


Caught

by Efstitt



Series: Catch as Catch Can [2]
Category: Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Also I’m not a lawyer, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Christmas, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, I don’t work in health care so please cut me some slack, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Jail, Let Crutchie Say Fuck, Mayer Jacobs should get a medal, Ocularists, Past Abuse, Pulitzer’s fiancée is a terrible person, Romeo is adorable, Sick Jack, Some sex but not explicit, Thanksgiving, Whump, bad language, but not a lot mostly in passing, sprace
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2020-02-07
Packaged: 2021-02-25 01:33:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 44
Words: 59,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22027780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Efstitt/pseuds/Efstitt
Summary: This is the sequel to Catch a Break If You Can. Jack is hanging on, but that doesn’t mean everyone else is, so he gets tangled up too. Getting on your feet can be really hard.
Relationships: Jack Kelly & Romeo (Newsies), Jack Kelly/Katherine Plumber
Series: Catch as Catch Can [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1585561
Comments: 286
Kudos: 34





	1. Lovey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Consensual adult PG13 sex. If you skip this chapter, here’s the important takeaway: Jack is settled in at Spot’s, Kath is in love with him but still struggles with his situation.

Kath ran her fingers up and down Jack’s bare arm that was wrapped around her chest. This place was so disgusting. How she had even brought herself to lie down on this gross air mattress was beyond her. She didn’t mind Jack being poor, but she recoiled at the thought of where this mattress might have been before being dragged here for Jack to use. Don’t be such a snob, she reprimanded herself. Wouldn’t you be grateful for it if you’d been sleeping in doorways? Of course. But still... Her eyes wandered to the empty couch, counting the holes in the fronts of the cushions, wondering how old it was. Did they ever sweep this floor? The rusted stove in the corner looked like a fire hazard. Two guys were shouting at each other in the alleyway, something about fucking each other up, motherfucker. Shape up, Katherine, she scolded herself again. He won’t be here long. Once he’s on his feet you can help him get a better place, maybe just for the two of you. How cute would that be. Nothing fancy, of course, but better than this. Like the ones you see in the movies, where things are simple and clean, obviously ideal and safe. She brought Jack’s hand to her mouth and kissed it.

“Hmm...” he murmured. “Let’s do it all again.” He moved his hand down to her breasts, holding them before moving down her side and her hip. 

“We should get up, Jack,” she said. “Spot will be home soon.” She shivered as his hand came back up and slid over her stomach.

“Nah,” he said. “Church don’t end for another twenty minutes, and then he’s gotta clean up and wait for everyone to leave. We got time.”

Don’t. Would she ever get used to it? She thought it was darling at first, the bad grammar. She didn’t care about trivial things like that, no. But didn’t he hear how it should be? Why didn’t he know by now? She could never bring herself to use bad grammar. Why was she so critical this morning, she wondered. He’s survived abuse she’d never even fathomed, and she’s getting upset by his grammar? Give him some love, Katherine, and get over yourself. Obeying her command, she rolled over and pressed up against Jack.

“Okay,” she said, smiling up at his relaxed face. “Just for a moment.” He opened his good eye and gave her a crooked smile in return, pulling her close and rolling on top of her. He was the most handsome thing she had ever seen, that was for sure, even with one eye patched. She rubbed his shoulders and closed her eyes, enjoying their last moments alone together for the morning.

Jack lay there, not daring to move in the early morning light, grateful Race was on firsts this week. Spot and Race didn’t mind Kath spending the night, but they didn’t want to see or hear nothing, so Jack and Kath just cuddled last night, chatting with Race as they drifted off to sleep. Kath had pretended to sleep through Spot and Race getting dressed and on their way in the morning. Jack could tell she was awake by the way she breathed, very controlled, her body tense. Jack had held her close, hoping she’d be patient. Had she ever shared a room with anyone, he wondered. It was totally worth it, holding her all night, keeping her from rolling off the air mattress, protecting her, smelling her hair, hoping she didn’t mind the shouting and sirens. No gunfire last night, he thought thankfully. Once Spot and Race were gone, he loved whispering in her ear, feeling her relax and turn towards him, her hair wild around her face. He touched her face as gently as he knew how, marveling at this independent girl who was in love with him. She put up with so much. Her bed, her house... and yet here she was, loving him on the floor. He bent down to kiss her, bracing his elbows in either side of her. She arched toward him, and they moved together as one.

Jack’s phone buzzed as he got out of the shower. Text from Spot, coming home early. Finish up. Well, Kath would die if she saw that text. He opened the bathroom door. “Babe, how about we get dressed, hm?” he asked softly.

“That was Spot, wasn’t it,” she asked, giving Jack a knowing look.

He smiled, nodding, wrapping his towel around his waist. “Yeah. Come on, get something on and we can pretend we’ve been discussing nuclear physics this morning.” He went over to his box and got some clothes out. He handed Kath her things that had ended up on the floor on his side of the mattress and ran his fingers through his wet hair.

“What do you want to eat?” he asked, zipping up his jeans and going to his shelf in the kitchen corner. “I got, um, some generic Cheerios and some bread. But I’m out of milk, so it’d be dry cereal. I think I got a little margarine left if you want to have something on the bread,” he said, pulling open the fridge door, taking out a cut-up piece of margarine in triumph.

Kath stood up to put on her bra and shirt, and came over to inspect her choices. “How about bread and margarine,” she decided. 

“Coming right up,” Jack declared, and soon they were seated at the table with identical breakfasts. They could hear Spot coming down the hall, clomping extra loud and jingling his keys. He started to sing a little as he began to fit his key into the lock.

Kath rolled her eyes at Jack. “Subtle, no?”

Jack bolted up from his seat and yanked the door open. “Spot! You’re home! I totally forgot how to have sex! I’m so glad you’re back and can show us what to do!” Kath choked on her bread, remembering simultaneously that this was the Jack she fell in love with. 

Spot looked over at Katherine. “Of all the idiots in the world, you chose this one?”

“Afraid so,” she answered. “What does that make me?”

“A saint,” Spot replied. “God help you.” He looked at Jack. “You’re stupid lucky, you know that?”

Jack grinned at him and adjusted his eye patch. “Yeah, I know. Story of my life, right?”


	2. I’d Like to Buy an Eye, Please

Jack looked around the doctor’s office, paying particular attention to the large poster diagram of the eye. All those parts, destroyed, he thought to himself. 

Someone knocked on the door. “Jack, how you doing?” asked Dr. Schmidt, entering the room.

“Good,” Jack answered. “Missing an eye, though.”

“So I hear. Let’s have a look.” Jack took off his patch and sat still while Dr. Schmidt examined him. “You ready for a prosthetic? Or does the pirate look attract the ladies?”

Jack grinned. “I got a lady. She don’t mind pirates.” 

Dr. Schmidt smiled back. “Good. Now Jack, I’ll tell you this right now, a prosthetic eye will cost several thousand dollars. Medicaid can cover most of that, but you’re probably still looking at five hundred to a thousand dollars or so.”

Jack was silent, his smile disappearing. “Okay,” he said at last. “The patch is good. Uh, thanks.”

“You can make payments,” Dr. Schmidt continued. “You don’t have to pay it all up front.”

Jack tried to smile again and stay polite. “Okay. I’ll just stick with the patch. You have a good day.” He put the patch back on and slid off the exam table.

Dr. Schmidt put out his arm to slow Jack down. “Jack, just think about it. It will be a good investment over the long term.”

Jack gritted his teeth. “I got just over eighteen dollars, Dr. Schmidt. I gotta live on that till Friday. I ain’t paying for no stupid fake eyeball. Even if I do get one, I still got all the scars.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and left. If he moved fast enough he could still make it to summer school. Fucking English.

He was late. Mr. Jacobs gave him a look as Jack sat down with the five other seniors in the library. Jack had forgotten his notebook and book. Again. A thousand bucks, a thousand bucks. He had matched his stride to the drumbeat of the thought. He’d have to get another job. Well, he’d been planning on it anyway, now that the school year was done. But now. How could he ask Spot to keep cutting him a break just to pay for an eye? Half his tiny check from the Y seemed more than fair, but Jack knew the water bill was higher now too. The electric bill got higher every time he used the stove.

“Jack?” Mr. Jacobs asked a little impatiently. “Jack, any thoughts on why Atticus took the case?”

Jack stared back at Mr. Jacobs, instantly embarrassed. “No sir, Mr. Jacobs, not at the moment.” Jack felt so bad. He owed Mr. Jacobs, one of the nicest men he had ever met. No doubt he was teaching summer school for the extra money, he thought. Jack paid attention for the rest of class.

“Jack, a moment?” Mr. Jacobs waved him over to his desk. Jack obediently came over, knowing he deserved whatever Mr. Jacobs said to him. “Look, you have to pass this class. You have to get your diploma.” He raised his hands toward Jack. “But you have to do the work! I can’t pass you if you don’t do the work.”

Jack looked down. “I know. I know, Mr. Jacobs. I did the reading, I swear. I’m sorry. I’ll do better tomorrow.” He scuffed the floor with his boot. “I will. You can ask me anything tomorrow, and I’ll know it.”

“What happened?” Mr. Jacobs asked more gently. 

“Nothing,” Jack answered. “Ain’t nothing happened.” He looked out the window. Like Mr. Jacobs needed to hear more from him. How did he even stand having Jack in his class, he wondered. Damn charity case and now this.

“Jack.”

“It’s stupid. It’s not important. I can’t get a fake eye. It ain’t like I’d be able to see with it. But I was hoping...” he trailed off, looking down again. Why had he bothered to hope. He should have known.

“Why can’t you get one?” Mr. Jacobs asked. “A medical reason?”

Jack shook his head.

“Ah,” said Mr. Jacobs. “Could you save up, or make payments? Isn’t the job at the Y going to full time?”

“Not until I get my diploma. And Spot needs more money. He ain’t said nothing, but I ain’t paying what I should be now that school’s out.” Jack stopped and looked at Mr. Jacobs’ desk. “I gotta get another job. In the mornings, before your class. Then I can pay him more and maybe save up for the eye.”

Mr. Jacobs sighed. “Jack, if Spot hasn’t said anything, he’s probably figuring it out. You have to pass this class. I know you don’t make money sitting here, but without your diploma, you’ll never get anywhere.”

“I know,” said Jack. “But here, I got more of what I owe you, anyway.” He reached in his pocket and counted out fifteen dollars. “I just got three more Friday bags to go, right?” He looked hopefully at Mr. Jacobs. He was so close to paying off his debts from before. Every time, Mr. Jacobs tried to wave him off. Every time, Jack won and got him to take the money. Mr. Jacobs gave in and took it again, giving Jack an unhappy look. Jack grinned and waved as he left the room.


	3. Jack the Provider

Jack moved the laundry along at the Y, kind of enjoying the monotony of folding the dry towels. He’d get the money for his eye somehow. Race said he knew some movers that could use some summer moving help. What he couldn’t understand was why Dr. Schmidt and Mr. Jacobs had both suggested payments. Miss a payment, get your arm broke. They knew Jack knew all about that part of payments. Why did they think it was worth it, then? Jack getting an arm or leg broke wouldn’t help Dr. Schmidt, he thought. He’s an eye doctor, unless he has a racket going with someone. That didn’t seem likely. Mr. Jacobs definitely didn’t want to see him with another broken arm. Jack took a deep breath. They couldn’t mean that kind of loan. There was a place near his apartment that offered loans, but Spot had told him to stay away from there. Suck you dry, he said. Better off just saving up.

“Jack, hi!” Jack turned to the familiar little voice.

“Romeo, my man! How you doing?” Jack shouted at him across the room, still folding towels.

“Good.” Romeo waved his goggles at him. “I’m going swimming today!”

“Good! You need a towel?” 

“No. I brought my own. Bye!” Romeo showed him the towel draped around his neck and trotted off down the hall.

“Bye!” Jack called. “See ya later!” Romeo was long gone, but Jack still liked calling after him.

“Can you lift a hundred and fifty?”

“Yeah.” Jack shifted his shoulders. Well, maybe.

“Lift that.” Kloppman pointed to a tall box. Jack went over, put his hands in the cut out holes in the sides, and lifted it, a side of the box pressed up against his face. Heavier than it looked. “Take it across the room.” Jack staggered across the room, making sure to put the box down gently. He shook out his arms. Not bad for both being broke this year, he thought to himself.

“You get hurt, you can’t sue us.” 

“Yeah, okay.” Jack rubbed the top of his wrist under his nose.

“What’s with the eye?” Kloppman asked.

“Someone thought I’d look better without it.” Jack saw Kloppman nod and look back at his paperwork.

“Anything else?” Kloppman was writing on his papers.

“I gotta get off by eleven so I can go to school.”

“Fine. Be here at six-thirty, Tuesdays through Saturdays.”

Jack saw Kath coming towards their usual bench, and got up to kiss her before settling back down again. The summer night was getting long, and the breeze was still warm. 

“Hey,” he breathed, enjoying the sight of her. “What’s new today?” He took her hand and rubbed his thumb over it. She seemed a little off, not quite the confident girl he’d been expecting.

“Dad’s marrying her,” she said. Oh.

“For real?” he asked. Lillian wasn’t Kath’s favorite person, he knew that. “How long have they been dating?”

“Eight months,” Kath replied unhappily. “I didn’t think it would last, but here we are.” Hm.

“Well, you’re going to college soon, right? Gonna live in a dorm? You won’t even see her that much, then,” he said, trying to meet her eyes. “No worries.”

Kath nodded, still not looking up. “She doesn’t like me, though. It was just me and Dad for so long, now it’ll all be different.”

“Well, your dad don’t like me, so now we’re twins, right? You got me, babe. Always.” Jack brought her close to wrap his arms around her. “She don’t know what she’s missing. But if you spend less time with them, that means more time for me, right? I think this might work out very nicely.” He kissed her ear.

“Let’s not talk about her, okay? What did you do today?” Kath turned her face up to Jack.

“Well, the usual, you know. School. Worked at the Y. I got another part-time job, too. A moving company. So that’ll be mornings Tuesday to Saturday.”

“Jack, why? You have to have time to study! When are you going to do that?” Kath looked a little too alarmed, Jack thought. It’s just one English class.

“I will, don’t worry. When I’m done at the Y I’ll still have time. I ain’t there so late now that school’s out, you know that. Anyway, I got it so I can help Spot a little more, but mostly so I can get a fake eye. I gotta come up with a fat wad of cash before I can get one.” He smoothed out her hair, smiling. “Unless I should keep this badass look. Which I might do anyway. Remind Oscar and them what an asshole I am.”

“Well, be careful, baby. I don’t want you getting hurt all over again because some dummy dropped a box on your foot.” Kath looked across the park. “Oh, let’s go get some ice cream! The cart’s right over there!” She turned out of Jack’s arms a bit.

Jack pressed his lips together. “Go ahead if you want. I’ll wait here,” he said.

She raised her eyebrows. “Are you broke?”

“No. I got three bucks, but they have to last me to Friday,” he said. “I ain’t broke.”

“Jack, it’s Monday.”

“Roger that.”

“Is that loaf of bread and the cereal going to last you that long?” She was really worried, he noticed.

“For sure. I got two cans of green beans, too. I didn’t think you’d want them for breakfast yesterday. I’m good.” He pointed at the cart with his chin. “Go get something. I mean it.”

“Fine.” If anybody could flounce, it was her, he decided. He watched her buy her ice cream, then another one. For crying out loud. She returned, holding out his favorite. “You have to have it or it will melt, and I won’t touch you if you’re sticky.” Jack took his cone and began licking it so slowly that Kath’s cone had started to melt before she stopped laughing.


	4. God Bless You Please

Mayer was pleased. Jack had kept his word, not just for the day he said he would, but for the past few weeks. He had kept up with the reading, talked in class, and even showed Mayer his first drafts of his papers so he could get feedback before turning in the final versions. Typing them in the library had helped, but still. Somehow taking on the second job had lifted Jack’s spirits and not overwhelmed him. He was a sweaty, dirty mess coming into class, which was not always everyone’s favorite thing during the summer, but Mayer learned to ignore it. Jack had long since paid back the Friday bags, much to Mayer’s chagrin, but he wouldn’t have traded in Jack’s proud look for anything when he gave Mayer his final payment. Perhaps Mayer had been wrong to tell him not to pay him back? Jack had held his head up differently after that. He laughed more.

“Jack, a moment?” Mayer asked after class. He regretted his choice of words, seeing how confused Jack looked as he came over to Mayer’s desk. He said that only when someone was in trouble, he realized. Whoops. “Sorry, Jack. Nothing is wrong. Only two weeks left in the term, and I wanted to tell you to keep up the good work. You’re doing really well, and I wanted to make sure you knew that and that I noticed.”

Jack’s face lit up. “It’s not bad, summer school with you, Mr. Jacobs. Think I’ll make it to graduation?” He slung his bag on the floor as he reached Mayer’s desk.

“Keep up like you have been, and there’s no doubt. Any plans to keep taking classes, Jack, at a college? You could do so much more.” Mayer smiled a bit at Jack’s smudgy face. The more Jack had wiped the sweat from his face when he came into class, the worse it had looked.

Jack’s smile faded a bit. “Your class is great and all, but I ain’t exactly college material. I gotta make some serious money, you know. As soon as I get the diploma, I’ll be working at the Y, and maybe I can still do some moving. Get some money saved up, get stuff I been wanting. Thanks for getting me in there. I like it, doing stuff, playing with the kids, you know. I get to see Romeo. I almost got enough money for my eye, too, but then I’ll be broke again, so I gotta work some more.” 

Mayer understood, much as he wished he didn’t have to.

“Gin.” Kath smiled triumphantly, smacking her card down on the pile between them. 

Jack tossed his hand down. “Best three out of five.” He started shuffling again as Kath rolled her eyes.

“You just can’t stand to lose, can you,” she said, leaning over to kiss the top of his head.

“Race stacks the deck, I know it. He knows you’re coming and he just wants you to like him.” Jack started to deal again.

“Does he mind, how much I’m here? I feel like I’m chasing him away,” she said, wrinkling her forehead.

“Nah. He likes you. Him and Spot been spending more time together anyway. Don’t worry about it. Go. Your turn.” Jack examined his cards.

“It’s nicer here, you know.”

Jack gave her a dubious look. “You feeling okay? The heat getting to you?”

“She’s not here. She pretends she doesn’t hear me when I say anything. Dad and I will make plans and then she changes them so that it’s just her and Dad, and Dad just goes along with her. He doesn’t even talk to me anymore the way he used to. I’m just there like, like a piece of furniture.” She picked up a card and discarded it.

“You ain’t like any piece of furniture I been handling, that’s for sure. You ain’t half as dirty,” said Jack.

Kath pretended to smack him on his arm. “You know what I mean.”

“Yeah. Sure. She hit you?” Jack asked.

“No, of course not,” said Katherine.

“Then don’t worry about it, okay, babe? She ain’t very nice. And your dad is crazy about her. Just come here and don’t worry about it.” Jack reached over and stroked her cheek. “You and me. Don’t worry none about them.”

Kath leaned into his touch and smiled. “Gin.”

Jack sat in the back seat of the truck and leaned his head against the window. That had been a hell of a job, getting that old man’s stuff out of his apartment. Fucking hell, five stories of lugging that crap. Why couldn’t Kloppman spring for air in this truck. For fuck’s sake. He wiped his face with his sleeve and checked his phone for the time. He’d have to leave the next job early, maybe, depending on what it was, if he didn’t want to be late to class. Mr. Jacobs had been so proud of him lately. He’d felt bad, typing with his dirty hands all over his library computers. Even after he washed up he still felt dirty. But he’d done good. Well. He’d done well. One more job and then sit around in the air conditioned library talking about a book. Pretty easy shit. He’d have to see if Mr. Jacobs had ordered any new art books that he could take home this weekend.

As they pulled up to the next job, Jack suddenly paid attention. Kath’s house? They weren’t moving. Kath hadn’t said anything, anyway. He glanced around. No sign of her. Why would she be on the steps, asshole? Jack climbed out of the truck after the other guys and followed them to the door. Aha. Renovation. Jack wondered whose idea the renovation was, but it wasn’t his job to ask questions. Just move the shit where they said to.

It wasn’t hard to figure out who Lillian was. Pulitzer must be at work, Jack thought. Maybe he don’t have any say in this anyway. She knew what she wanted. Some folks told them what they wanted and got out of the way. Other folks watched you like you was gonna steal their light bulbs. Lillian must love her light bulbs. She followed Jack closely. Was it his eye? Did that make him more suspicious? Jack didn’t look at her. He just packed stuff up and took it out to the truck with the other guys. Did she always stand in the doorways like that? It made it hard to get through, lady. 

Jack heard one of the guys snicker as they jumped out of the back of the truck to go back inside. “She’s got it bad for you, Jacky,” he snorted. Jack shook his head.

“You better watch out, Jack,” he said. “Five bucks says she bends over so you can get a good look.” Jack took a deep breath as he went back in the house. Was it time to leave yet? Shit. Not yet.

“Young man.” Jack saw Lillian point at him and crook her finger. “This chair must go next.” Jack grabbed a moving blanket and followed her alone into a room away from the rest of the movers. “You must be careful with it. It belonged to my fiancé’s grandmother, you know.” She looked at Jack expectantly.

“Yes, ma’am,” said Jack. “On it.” He flung the blanket over the chair and grabbed the arms.

“Not like that!” she exclaimed. “Put it down! Watch out for the legs! They should be wrapped like this.” She bent over in front of Jack to demonstrate the proper wrapping of the chair legs. “Come down and see how I’m doing it.” Jack felt his face get hot and turned away, only to find Kath standing in the doorway.

“Kath!” he practically shouted. “How you doing?” He rushed over to her and wrapped his arms around her. Was he allowed to kiss at work? He didn’t care. 

“Katherine! Who... what are you doing!” Lillian said breathlessly, adjusting her top as she quickly stood up. “This man has work to do!”

Kath finished her kiss with Jack. “This is Jack, Lillian. My boyfriend.” Kath looked an extra second at Lillian. Jack tugged at his shirt and smiled hesitantly at Lillian, taking care to stand a little behind Kath.

”Your... Well, I’m sure he’s not allowed to take a break whenever he feels like it. The chair.” Lillian pointed at the chair and glared at Jack.

“Yes, ma’am,” said Jack, once again grabbing the chair and this time successfully fleeing the room.


	5. What Happens If I Pull This Thread

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brief mention of PG13 sex at the beginning.

Jack rolled onto his back, catching his breath. Kath had to be the most beautiful woman on earth, he thought, rolling back a little and reaching out to touch her side.

Katherine opened her eyes a little. “Really, baby? I’m done.” She sat up, reaching for her clothes. “You should probably get a shower.”

Jack pouted. “Spot won’t be home for a while. Hey, you gonna tell Lillian how good I am?” Katherine snorted and pushed his face away, starting to laugh. Jack stopped her hand, turning his head toward the door. “Shit. Home early. Again.” Katherine’s eyes widened as she rushed to the bathroom with her clothes, hearing Spot’s stomping getting close to the door. Jack jumped up and yanked on his pants as Spot deliberately fumbled with the key and opened the door.

“I texted you,” he said pointedly at Jack.

“Yeah, well, I was busy,” said Jack, grinning back. “But what’s with coming home early so much? Ain’t anybody at church these days? Or don’t they like you no more?” 

Spot threw his keys on the kitchen counter. “I dunno. They just keep telling me to leave early. I think I’m doing okay.”

Jack held still as Conrad Schmidt examined his eye again. “Looking good, Jack,” Conrad said. “I’m glad you came back.”

“Yeah, well, I had to save up. I’m almost there, so I figured I’d get the rest by the time the eye was ready,” said Jack. 

“Good idea.” Conrad reached over for the sample eye he showed his patients. “Want to see what it will look like?” He placed it in Jack’s outstretched hand and watched him examine it. He felt bad for this kid. From what he could tell Jack was on his own, but he didn’t know quite how to ask that. He took in the cuts and ground in dirt on Jack’s hands, the worn out boots. 

“What’s it made of?” Jack’s question brought Conrad back to his office. He had hardly answered one question before Jack had another. How do they get the color right? Who decides what color it should be? How do they know what size to make it? Can it freeze? Does it melt? Does it move or stay still? Conrad found himself answering questions well after he was done with Jack’s exam. He was late for the rest of this appointments that day, but he liked talking with Jack. He was a bright kid.

Jack pushed the full laundry cart toward the laundry, trying not to hit the preschoolers and their parents getting out of tumbling class. Slow, slow. Stop. Wait. Slow. He waited some more and glanced down the hall. “Hey, Romeo! What’s up?” He waited for Romeo to get closer, wading through the stream of little kids.

“Nothing,” said Romeo.

“What do you mean, nothing? Looks like you’re going swimming again today. You like that, don’t ya?” Jack asked. 

“Yeah.” Romeo wouldn’t look at Jack.

“What’s the matter? You forget something?” Jack hadn’t seen this side of Romeo before.

“No.”

“So what’s up? You can tell me.” Jack brought Romeo over to the wall and knelt down. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing, I said!” Romeo gave Jack’s shoulder a shove.

“Hey, hey...” said Jack, putting his hands on Romeo’s shoulders. “Little man. Tell me what’s going on. Someone pushing you around again?”

“My dad moved out.” Romeo blinked back tears. “He said he doesn’t love my mom anymore.”

Jack’s stomach flipped. “Ah, jeez. Romeo, that sucks, man. Where’d he move to?”

Romeo shrugged a tiny shrug. “Brooklyn, I think. He said he’d see me around.” He bit his lip.

Jack didn’t like the sound of that. Romeo started to cry. “Come here, kid. Come here.” Romeo leaned into Jack, put his arms around Jack’s neck, and sobbed. Jack let him cry for a while. Once Romeo started to try to catch his breath, Jack held him out so he could see Romeo’s face.

“I gotta work a little while longer, okay? How about when I’m done I come see how good you can swim?” Romeo’s breath hitched as he looked hopefully at Jack. “You been off the big diving board yet?”

“Once,” Romeo sniffled.

“How about when I get there you show me how good you can jump off it, okay? Deal?” Jack took the hem of his shirt and wiped Romeo’s tears. Romeo nodded. “Okay. I’ll be there in about forty minutes. Don’t go nowhere till you show me.”

Romeo gave him a small smile. “Promise?”

“Promise.” Jack watched Romeo head for the pool. Had he really been that size once? Keep that door locked, Kelly. Nothing good comes from opening it. The sirens, the blood on his dad lying in the kitchen, his mom in handcuffs. A cop carrying Jack up to the door. Strange people, strange kids. ‘We’ll bring some clothes and shoes tomorrow.’ Shut the goddam door, Kelly. Picking out some socks from his garbage bag the next morning, still hurting from his dad’s last beating. Fuck. Get the laundry done. Go watch Romeo. Go fuck yourself, Kelly.

Jack took a big breath as they pulled up to the Pulitzer house again. Kath had said the renovation wasn’t that bad, but the colors were hideous. Jack would hate it. Jack found he didn’t particularly care one way or the other, but just wanted this job to be over with. Kath promised to try to keep an eye on Lillian, but they both knew that would be hard without seeming weird.

Lillian was nowhere to be seen, much to his relief. Jack worked harder and faster than normal anyway, just to get out of there, sweat soon soaking his shirt and making his jeans sticky. He found himself moving the same chair Lillian had told him to move the first time they were there, so he took it back to the room it had come from, nearly dropping it when he saw Lillian enter from the other doorway.

“You want this chair in here, ma’am?” Jack asked, trying to pretend he’d never seen Lillian before in his life.

“Yes, right over there.” She pointed to the other end of the room. Jack heaved the chair over, put it down, and took the blanket off of it. 

“There you go. I gotta go help with the rest of it,” he said. Lillian smiled and nodded. Okay. Good. Easy story for Kath.

Jack headed back out, only to hear Lillian give a cry. “My chair! You ruined it!” Jack froze. “Mr. Kloppman! Come see what your worker did!” Jack saw Kloppman come towards him, and followed him back into the room with the chair.

“Just look at that scratch! This is an heirloom!” Lillian screeched, pointing at Jack. “This boy did it!”

Jack gave Kloppman a panicked look. “Kloppman, no, I didn’t! It was fine. I got it wrapped up good!” Kloppman went over to the chair and examined the chair leg, now graced with a long scratch.

“It surely is damaged,” said Kloppman. “The cost of the repair will come out of Jack’s pay. Jack, wrap it up and take it back out.”

Jack lost his breath. “Kloppman, I didn’t do it! How much is a repair?” He wiped his forehead with his wrist.

Kloppman glared at him. “Do it, Kelly. We’ll talk about the cost later.” Jack gulped and threw the blanket back over the chair.

“I want him fired,” said Lillian. “I don’t want him touching my furniture or anyone else’s. Who knows how much damage he’s already done, the half-blind idiot.” Jack stood still, bent over the arms of the chair, looking up at Kloppman.

“Ma’am, the cost of the repair will be extensive. I can promise you that he’ll be more careful,” said Kloppman calmly. “I won’t be firing him.” Jack started to breathe again.

“Then I will tell everyone I know not to use your business,” said Lillian coldly. “Fire him.”

Kloppman blinked. “Ma’am, please. I’ll dock him a week’s pay and the cost of the repair.” Jack’s elbows buckled. The fuck? Was Kloppman serious? He sure as fuck looked serious.

“Fine,” said Lillian. “I’ll need copies of his pay stub to make sure. Now get him out of here.” Kloppman scowled and jerked his head at Jack. Jack lifted the chair and stormed back out to the truck.


	6. Jack Sucks It Up and Mayer Jacobs Is A Badass

Much as Jack wanted to slam the chair down and break it into a million bits, he didn’t. He put it down and stood there in the truck, trying to catch his breath. Fuck. He had no idea how much it would cost to repair the scratch. If couldn’t be that much, could it? More than he had, no matter what. A week’s pay, gone. Well, he could still save for the eye. Just not as fast. Spot would be disappointed not having some of that money, but he’d understand. Maybe they could be late on a bill again? Jack would make the cereal stretch. Pull yourself together, Kelly. You still got a place to stay. You still have a job. Two jobs. You’re doing good.

“Jack?” He turned to see Kath peering into the truck. “Jack, what happened? I heard Lillian yelling and then I saw you take the chair back out.”

“She scratched it, Kath. And said it was me. She told Kloppman she’d tell everyone not to hire his company if he didn’t fire me, but he talked her down. I gotta pay for the repair and he took a week’s pay.” He looked up at the ceiling of the truck with a bitter laugh. “She still ain’t happy, that’s for sure. She wanted my ass fired. But I’m screwed anyway. My eye will have to wait a little.” He looked one last time at the chair, pretended to kick it, and jumped out of the truck.

Kath held Jack at the waist. “Baby, I’m sorry.” She pulled his face down and kissed him, feeling him relax. He grabbed the back of her head and kept the kiss going. As they finished she looked up at him. “I’m glad you weren’t fired.”

“Hmmm...” Jack replied. “If this is what I get from you for getting a week docked, what do I get if I get fired? It might be worth it.”

Kath smiled and glanced back up at the house. “Jack, um, you should get back to work.” Jack followed her look. Fuck. Lillian was watching from a second story window.

Spot leaned against the counter. Race sat at the table. Both were silent. “Jacky,” Spot started, “it ain’t your fault. But that’s bad news. The church is cutting my job to quarter time starting next week, official. My hours ain’t been great to begin with, not lately. They ain’t got any money. You got any idea how many people there died this year? They die, they ain’t giving their money to the church every week. We got rent due soon, kid.”

Jack took a step back. Shit. “I got money. I got money saved up you can have. And I can get more hours from Kloppman next week. We can make rent with that, right, Race?”

Race nodded. “I can carry our rent this one time, fellas, with Jack’s help. But we got a problem with everything else, then, unless we start using all of Jack’s money from both his jobs. And we ain’t even talked about food yet.”

“That’s his eye money. He can’t give that up.” Spot shook his head. “No way.”

“What good is an eye gonna do me if we ain’t got a place to live, Spotty? You let me stay here for free when I first come. You get this money now so we can stay.” Jack pointed at Spot. “You’re getting it. And everything else I make.”

Spot looked at Race. Race nodded, and Spot shook his head again. “I don’t like it.”

Jack lifted his chin. “You’re getting it.”

Jack sighed and called the office number on the card. “Hi, yeah, uh, this is Jack Kelly. Dr. Schmidt is making an eye for me, but I gotta tell him to stop. I don’t have the money no more.” Any more. “No, I don’t want to make payments. Can you just tell him to not make it after all? I’ll come back when I have the money. Okay, thanks. Thanks, yeah, bye.” Jack hung up and leaned against the counter. He exhaled, blowing out his cheeks.

He slid his tray along the tracks as he told the volunteers what he wanted. He tried not to look at them. He finally grabbed his plate and a drink, set them on his tray, and sat well away from the regulars. At least he’d be at work at the Y on time. He took his first bite and couldn’t stop, shoveling the rest in as fast as he could. It had been a few months since he was this hungry. He could come here again tomorrow, which would be a relief, actually. Would Mr. Jacobs notice? Of course he would. But maybe he could still scrape by with a C?

“Jack.” Mr. Jacobs looked pretty upset. Well. Jack had skipped the soup kitchen lunch to come to class, so Mr. Jacobs could just relax. “Where have you been? You’ve missed two days in a row. I’m not messing around this time. Answer me honestly. Where have you been?”

Jack got a smart reply ready, but then looked at Mr. Jacobs’ face. He couldn’t lie. Fine. “I went to the soup kitchen for lunch. They’re closed by the time I get off work at the Y, so if I wanna eat, I gotta go during lunch. That means missing class. Can’t I just do some extra reading or something?” He pushed his hands into his pockets.

“Why aren’t you packing your lunch like you used to? Why the kitchen? David hasn’t mentioned seeing you there.” Mr. Jacobs frowned a little.

“I go to a different one. I don’t pack cuz my roommate got his hours cut way back and we need all my money for rent now.” Jack felt his ears start to burn. “Ain’t nothing left after the bills. Well, not much, anyway. The pantries let you come once a month, and even then you get like two days’ worth of food, and it ain’t even that much, so...” he stopped, his cheeks burning now. Why, why did Mr. Jacobs know these embarrassing things about him.

“Have you applied for food stamps, Jack?” Mr. Jacobs asked gently.

Jack took a breath. “They don’t like giving stamps to guys like us, Spot said. He said don’t worry about it, that he’ll find something soon. He’s working on it. Can I just do some extra homework, Mr. Jacobs?”

Mr. Jacobs sighed. “You’re so close, Jack. Yes, we’ll make it work, but I have to be honest in reporting your attendance, too. If you miss too many classes you won’t be allowed to pass, no matter what. Tell you what. I’ll bring a lunch for you tomorrow for you to eat on your way to work after class, how about that?”

Jack stared silently at the floor for a long while while Mr. Jacobs waited. Not this again. He’d just finished paying off his debts and now... He pushed against his forehead with the heel of his palm. He squeezed his eye shut, wishing he was a million miles away. Wishing he could fucking graduate already. He had to get to work. He turned without looking at Mr. Jacobs and left.

That night, Jack just wanted to go onto the fire escape with one of the art books and some of the paper he’d stolen from Mr. Jacobs. Being alone seemed like the best idea right now, even more so with Spot and Race out of the apartment for the evening. Kath understood his text, thankfully. He’d see her tomorrow. He tossed his smelly shirt onto his mattress and kicked off his boots. The socks met the same fate as the shirt, and he crawled out into the evening air. He flipped the book open, not really caring which piece of art he found, and started to copy. His pencil took on a life of its own as he sank deeper and deeper into his work, shading and smudging and redrawing. The light started to fade, but Jack kept going.

He startled at the sound of someone banging on the door. He jerked his head toward the apartment, seeing if Spot and Race had returned without him noticing, but the apartment was dark. The banging continued. Jack scrambled back inside, throwing his book and papers on his mattress, and turned on the light. He rushed to the door and opened it, leaving the chain on. Sweet baby Jesus. Mr. Jacobs stood there with a big bag of groceries. Jack slammed the door shut, undid the chain, and opened the door, speechless.

“Can I come in?” Mr. Jacobs asked. Jack stepped aside, still staring.

“You didn’t answer me today about lunch, so I thought I’d make sure you could pack tomorrow,” said Mr. Jacobs, entering the apartment. “Can I put these here?” He swung the bag onto the counter. 

Jack finally found his voice. “Sure, yeah. Uh, Mr. Jacobs, you didn’t have to do that. I’m good. I can skip lunch tomorrow. You shouldn’t be here. It ain’t a great neighborhood, you know.”

“I’m fine.” Mr. Jacobs looked around the apartment. Jack suddenly was acutely aware of his bed, now covered in his blanket, his dirty laundry, a library book, and stolen paper. “How’s the book?”

“Good.” Jack scrambled over to the mattress, trying to throw his clothes into his box, picking up the book and his copying. “I, um, I copied some just now. Want to see?” He held out the sheet.

Mr. Jacobs took it and admired Jack’s work. “Very nice, Jack. Well, I should be going so you can get back to your drawing.” He handed the paper back to Jack. “See you tomorrow? You’ll pack a lunch?”

“Yes, sir,” answered Jack. “I’ll be there. Thanks, thanks a lot for the bag. For the groceries.” He followed Mr. Jacobs to the door. “You okay getting home? You want some company?”

Mr. Jacobs smiled and waved as he went down the hall. “I’m fine. See you tomorrow.” And he was gone.


	7. Lillian’s Revenge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not a lawyer, so if I really screwed up bad here, let me know.

Lillian wants to take me out to dinner tonight, Kath texted. Get to know me better.

Jack laughed out loud, sitting off the back of the truck on his break. A nice Sunday night dinner, hm, he texted back. Family time?

You have to help me.

I ain’t invited.

Help.

I’ll walk you there after work.

You are the best of men.

I know.

Pacing at their meeting spot three blocks south of the restaurant, Jack finally saw Kath coming. They’d make a great pair, him still in his work clothes and her all dressed up, he thought. Maybe he should invite himself to dinner, too.

“Jack, thank you. I’m so shaky. She makes me so nervous. What could she want to talk about? Is this about the whole chair thing? Or maybe she really does want a fresh start, right? Just us girls?” Kath searched his face anxiously.

“Babe, I never seen anyone get so worked up over being given a nice dinner. Go eat. Let her talk about whatever she wants.” Jack touched noses with her. “I’ll wait here so you can tell me all about it when you’re done.”

“You are the sweetest thing,” Kath sighed. “I wish you could come with me.”

Jack laughed. “Yeah, right. World War Three Starts in New York, says tomorrow’s headline. Say, ask her if I can have her doggy bag, okay? I bet she’ll say yes.”

Kath smiled up at him. “Walk with me till we get there?”

“Anything for you.” He took her hand and they walked slowly down the street.

Lillian was approaching from the opposite direction, waving a little at Katherine as they got closer to the entrance. “Yoo hoo, Katherine! I’m so glad you’re here on time.” She took Kath by the shoulders and air kissed her cheek. She gave a dismissive look at Jack before turning back to Kath. “Darling, I forgot my wrap in my car. These heels are already killing me. Would you be a dear and run down and get it for me? I’m about two blocks back.”

“Um, sure,” said Katherine, looking at Jack. “I’ll be right back.” She took Lillian’s keys and quickly headed down the block.

Jack watched Kath go. He turned to Lillian and tried to remember what to say. “Have a nice...” he stopped short as Lillian suddenly dropped her purse, spilling makeup all over the sidewalk.

“Jack? It’s Jack, right? Could you get that for me, please? This little dress, these heels, you know...” Lillian tottered helplessly, trying to reach her purse without bending over. Jack tried not to roll his eyes, but got down to pick it all up. For Katherine’s sake, he told himself. He reached for the lipstick rolling away from him when he felt something? Someone? Fall on top of him. Someone, by the screaming. Lillian? 

“Help! Help! Oh!” Lillian flung herself all over Jack, pulling and screaming at him. He tried to get up without hurting her, but she never quite seemed to be entirely disentangled. She grabbed at his neck, screaming, as he grabbed for her leg. She scratched his arm, still screaming, as he tried to unwrap her arm from his head. He still held on to the purse, struggling to get free of her when he felt himself being lifted away and pinned to the ground. “Officers, thank you! Oh, my purse! Thank you! Oh, my. Yes, that’s him, he’s the one!” she screamed, pointing at Jack. A crowd had started to gather, and Jack saw Kath pushing her way to the front.

Jack struggled to get up, and the clink of handcuffs sent him into a full panic. “Settle down, bud. You ain’t going nowhere,” he heard a voice say to him. Jack gave a violent jerk and almost kicked himself free when he was brought crashing down on his front. A knee on his back kept him down as he tried to roll from side to side. “Got you for resisting, now, asshole,” said the cop keeping him down. Jack’s hands were swiftly cuffed behind him.

“Kath, help!” he shouted.

Lillian continued to scream. “He grabbed my purse and pushed me down. He was going to attack me!”

“Officers, this is bogus! This couldn’t have happened!” shouted Kath. “Let him go!”

“Quiet, everyone!” ordered the older officer. “And you,” he said, pointing at Kath, “you stay quiet or I’ll arrest you too.” He motioned to the cop on Jack’s back to get off. “Get him up.” The cop grabbed Jack’s hair and pulled him up to his knees.

Jack looked around wildly, trying to see Kath or Lillian. He found Lillian first. “You...” he started, only to have his head viciously yanked back again. Jack bit his lip to keep from yelling.

“Shut up. Maybe if you apologize, this lady will let you go.” He shook Jack’s head around. Jack caught a glimpse of Lillian’s face, glinting with triumph. Kath had her hand over her mouth, shaking a “no” at him. He had to. 

“I’m sorry,” he gasped. “I’m sorry.” 

“Ma’am? Are you going to press charges?” the older officer asked. “You want me to take him in?”

“Naturally I am! We can’t just let people snatch purses and then say they’re sorry!” Lillian cried. “He’ll just attack again!”

The officer nodded, taking out his pad. “I’ll need your statement, then, ma’am. Get him in the cruiser,” he ordered the younger officer. Jack was pulled to his feet and pushed down the sidewalk.

Jack knew better than to show any emotion as he was fingerprinted, strip searched, and photographed. Similar to juvie. He sat on the floor of the holding cell, knees up, back against the bars, the benches already taken. He rested his arms on his knees, looking expressionlessly at the other guys. His eye patch got him some attention. After a few minutes one guy got up from a bench and went over to another guy on another bench, and bent down to talk into his ear. The second guy looked over at Jack. Jack stared him down. The first guy went back to his seat, watching Jack. Jack didn’t move. 

Later that night, as the drunks and the addicts were piled in, as the noise got louder, the guys who had watched Jack came over to him. He stayed down. “You Kelly?” the first one asked.

Jack looked up. “Who are you?” He tried to stay stone faced.

“I guess that means yeah, you’re Kelly. Oscar says hello.” And Jack was slammed into the side of a bench and onto the floor. By the time the guards had pushed through, the guys were done.

The next day he heard his name shouted at the door, along with five other names. He got up slowly and went over. “Yeah. That’s me. Kelly.” Finally he talked with a lawyer. Plead guilty and he’d get fifteen days or a five hundred dollar fine for disturbing the peace and resisting. Plead not guilty and he could post five hundred dollars for bail, or wait in jail.

“Let’s go, Kelly. Your record doesn’t help, so this is it. We got ten minutes.” His lawyer looked at him impatiently. The guy next in line gave him a shove. Jack didn’t know anyone with five hundred dollars, except maybe Kath.

“Don’t I get a phone call?” he asked.

The lawyer rolled his eyes. “You shoulda made that call already. What’s it gonna be?”

“I ain’t got five hundred dollars.”

“Okay. Fifteen days, then. Next!”


	8. Hot and Cold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Jack encounters anti-Semitism in jail.

“Dad.” Kath tried to stay calm. “Don’t you think that if Jack were the type of guy to steal a purse and attack a woman, he would have already done that with me?” Wait, Kath. Just wait. “I know you don’t like him, but you know he’s so gentle. He would never hurt anyone, unless they tried to hurt him first.” She looked pleadingly at her father. “He’s amazing, Daddy. He just wants people to not hurt him. That’s all he wants!”

“I don’t think Lillian would start an altercation with Jack of all people, darling,” said Pulitzer. “She hardly knows him, and obviously he’s much stronger than she is. And what would she have to gain? Jack has a criminal history. He lost an eye to the gang he was hanging around with, for Pete’s sake. And surely he’d think she had a significant amount of money in her purse, not to mention credit cards, which he could use, as you well know.” Pulitzer recrossed his legs, annoyed.

“He wasn’t hanging around with them, Dad! He was trying to escape, I told you! And hasn’t he paid back every debt he’s ever had? Didn’t he leave our house the day after he had freaking surgery because you told him to? He doesn’t start fights, Dad. He just doesn’t.” Should she say Lillian had tried to seduce Jack? How ridiculous would that sound?

Pulitzer looked at the ceiling and sighed in frustration. “He said he was guilty, Katherine. I’m not going to pay the fine of the boy who attacked my fiancée, and that’s final.” He pointed at Katherine. “And you are on thin ice, young lady. Lillian was trying to do something nice with you, and your boyfriend attacked her. He’s lucky he got off with a misdemeanor.”

“He said he was guilty because he couldn’t post bail! He didn’t know what would happen! He had, like, five minutes with a lawyer and they locked him up, Daddy. And, by the way, you should know that Lillian tried to make a move on Jack when he was moving our furniture. Yes, she did. Listen to me! She tried to get him fired because he wouldn’t get close to her, and when that didn’t work, she set him up for all this. Yes, Daddy, she did! Where are you going? Don’t walk away from me! Dad!”

Mayer stopped outside of the jail. He was no stranger to poverty and the crime that often came with it. Working where he did, he knew. Plenty of his students had gone down this path. None other than Jack had ever slept in his library, though. At least, not that he knew of. Mayer had bought lunches for kids before, but bringing groceries had been a first. Had he gone too far? He hoped his shock hadn’t been evident. He had known it would be bad, but it had still been sobering. The near empty shelves, the telltale ketchup packets for making ‘tomato soup.’ Jack’s scars. But his library books had been stacked so neatly by his mattress... Well, mostly. And Mayer had been pleased to see that Jack hadn’t stolen the paper for no reason. He smiled a little, remembering how eagerly Jack had shown him his drawing. His tough guy, his little boy.

Mayer waited patiently for Jack to be escorted to the table, sighing with relief when he finally entered the room. Once again he tried not to register his shock.

“Mr. Jacobs, you don’t gotta be here. I’ll be out real soon,” Jack started in. “I know what you’re gonna say.” He stared at the table, willing his lip to stop trembling.

“I’m here, Jack. Let’s have a visit, then, okay?” Mayer leaned in, and Jack looked up. “Katherine gave up a visit so I could see you, so let’s not let her down. Now, what’s going on with all this? You okay?” Mayer circled his own face with his finger.

“Yeah. Just some guys, you know. It’s nothing. Not like they took out my other eye,” Jack half laughed, glancing at Mayer. Mayer gave him a little smile. “So when you gonna tell me I flunked?”

Mayer took a breath. “I signed up to teach the evening class this fall. Katherine tells me you still have a job with Mr. Kloppman, is that right?” Jack nodded. “You can take my class again, Jack. Six weeks, at night. The content is pretty much the same, so you should be okay. We’re going to get you through this, I want you to know that.”

Jack pushed his bruised hands down between his legs, straightening his arms and leaning forward over the table. “What’s all this to you, Mayer?” he asked. “Hm? Why are you here? What do you care about what happens to me? What’s with the food delivery? You know and I know that ain’t nothing special gonna come of me. I’ll probably move furniture the rest of my life. And you want me to tell you about Atticus Finch again? What the fuck for, Mayer?” He narrowed his swollen eye and looked steadily at Mayer’s face.

Words, Mayer. And get it right. “You can move furniture the rest of your life if you want to, Jack. It’s honest work. But,” he looked meaningfully at Jack, “you know and I know that that work doesn’t challenge your mind. You have a wonderful mind. Your drawing, your ability to care. Romeo adores you. The world needs someone like you to do something with those talents, Jack. Moving furniture doesn’t use those gifts. But the reality is that if you want to use them and make a living, you have to get a decent education, and that’s where I come in. And I care if you’re getting enough to eat because I just do. My faith asks me to. That’s why I’m here.” Mayer stopped, rather impressed with his impromptu speech, but he couldn’t think of anything else to say.

Jack shook his head. “You’re an idiot, Mayer.” 

“Probably so. But I’m an idiot who cares about you.” Had he gone too far? Too late now. Mayer held his breath as Jack stayed frozen, still leaning his upper arms against the table. He saw Jack swallow.

“You hang in there. You’ve come too far to quit now,” Mayer said. “I’ll be here to bring you home next week. You’ll need to help me bring in the groceries. What kind of cake do you like?”

Jack glanced up. “You serious?”

Mayer gave him an exasperated look. “No, I’m asking so that I can disappoint you.”

“Chocolate. With chocolate frosting. And chocolate ice cream.” Jack tried to grin. “I get ice cream, too, right?”

“You got it. See you next week.” Mayer got up and held out his hand. Jack stood and shook it as the guard came over to lead him out of the room.

“Kelly.” Jack slowed as he headed toward his bunk. “Kelly. Hey. I’m talking to you.” Jack was blocked by a guy built not unlike a tank. Jack looked eye-level at the guy’s chest. “You a Jew?”

Jack shook his head. “No. Catholic.” Was this guy for real? How many Jewish guys are named Kelly?

“What you doing talking to one, then? He give you money?” Jack tried not to laugh. Where did some of these guys come from. He knew some people didn’t like Jewish people, but he’d never heard anyone talk like this in all seriousness.

“He’s a friend. No, he didn’t give me money.” Jack still didn’t look at this guy’s face, but started watching his every move.

“You sure about that?” He shoved Jack up against the wall. “You sure you ain’t one yourself? You talk to him again, I’m gonna know.”

Know what, Jack wondered. Jack tried to go around, but was shoved against the wall again. “Where you going?”

“Lemme go,” said Jack. “He’s just a friend. I don’t care if he’s Jewish. He’s a nice guy.” That answer got him a punch in the gut, strong enough to bring Jack to his knees. Punches to his head and neck followed, leaving Jack gasping for breath. He was heaved to his feet and a target for even more powerful hits. Blood dripping from his mouth and nose, Jack felt his forehead slam against the rail of a top bunk. The guy let him go. Jack staggered, trying to keep his balance by holding onto the bunk, the gash on his forehead bleeding down his cheek.

Jack slowly led Mayer up the steps to his apartment, carrying the cake. He had tried not to cry when Mayer gave him a hug, out of sight of the jail.

“What happened here?” Mayer had asked, pointing at Jack’s forehead.

“Some guy didn’t like it that you were Jewish,” said Jack.

Mayer blanched. “Jack, I’m sorry that happened.”

Jack nodded. “Me too. Five stitches.” Mayer cupped Jack’s face gently, trying not to aggravate the other bruises. He started to speak, but then just patted his cheek.

Finally they made it to the door, and as Jack tried to balance the cake while fishing for his key, the door was flung open.

“Welcome home!” Jack stopped, shocked to see Charlie standing in front of him. Albert, Race, Kath, Spot... Decorations hung from the ceiling, and helium balloons were weighed down on the table. Albert stared at Jack’s face and bandage on his forehead.

Jack shook his head just a little in warning at Albert, handed him the cake, and turned to Charlie. “What are you all doing here?! How did you...”

Charlie grabbed him and pulled him close, Jack again trying not to cry. “It’s Convict Day, stupid! We had to have a party since we have our very own convict coming home!”

Jack looked nervously at Spot. “Welcome to the club,” said Spot. “Fifteen days ain’t nothing, though. I still get top billing. Juvie don’t count.” Jack grinned and went over to him, holding out his hand. Spot pulled him in for a hug, slapping his back. Jack grunted. Spot met his eyes. “Sorry,” he said quietly.

Kath came over to him as Spot and Mayer put the groceries away and Race argued with Albert about how to cut the cake. “Race and Spot said we’d have the place to ourselves tonight,” she whispered. Jack’s eyes lit up as he kissed her. 

Katherine turned away from him and surveyed the room. “Okay, everyone, let’s get this cake cut! Jack, sit here so you get the first piece,” Katherine called. “Who wants ice cream with their cake?”

“I do!” shouted Albert, Jack, and Race at the same time. Kath and Charlie got busy with the cake and ice cream, the cake vanishing in no time. Mayer had been wise enough to buy a large container of ice cream, though, which kept even Albert happy.


	9. Sometimes You Really Are Tired

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Intimacy, innuendo.

Jack flopped on the couch, exhausted. “That was great. That was the best thing ever, Kath. Thank you.” Katherine latched the door, put the ice cream in the freezer, and came over to sit by him. He leaned his head back, closed his eye, and just breathed. He was free. In his own place. No one could kick him out, at least not today. He ran his hands over the couch cushions.

He could feel Kath watching him, and after a while he opened his eye and put his arm out. “Come here. Please. Would you come here by me, please, I mean. I just need to hold you. Sorry about the fan. Race shoulda got it fixed.” Kath moved closer, snuggling up under his arm despite the sweltering heat, and rested her head on his chest. Jack stayed still, soaking it all in, eye closed once again, and fell asleep.

Kath watched Jack at the party, loving that his sunken eyes were bright again, that he was laughing and pushing his bowl forward for more ice cream. Mayer left first, saying no one wanted an old man at a party, but Jack insisted he take the last piece of cake home with him at least. Finally, finally, everyone else had left, each with an embarrassing knowing look or well-rehearsed smartass comment.

She gladly came and sat with Jack on the couch, although it was too hot to cuddle. But here she was, stuck now with Jack sleeping on her, his arm solidly wrapped around her. Hardly the romantic getaway the others had probably pictured. She listened to Jack breathe, wishing she could reach her phone on the counter or one of Jack’s books. Something. She could feel her face sweat against his chest, her hair stick to her forehead, lint from the couch stick to her legs. This was gross. But he was back, and he was safe. Every bruise, every cut was from Lillian, she thought, suddenly angry. Every single one. What was she going to do about her. Her father had to see reason, she thought. But she also knew that Lillian made her father happy. She wasn’t going away. Kath reran the scene in her head for the forty millionth time. Lillian screaming, Kath running, pushing, and seeing Jack tackled and pinned. Lillian’s glitteringly triumphant look as Jack desperately apologized, hoping against hope that he wouldn’t be arrested. Kath didn’t want to believe it, to see it. But Jack was gone before she knew it. Lillian hadn’t even tried to conceal her delight. Kath heard herself breathing more loudly and ordered herself to calm down.

Kath felt Jack fall into an even deeper sleep and slowly disentangled herself. Ew, she was so sweaty. Maybe a quick shower? She slipped into the bathroom (would it kill them to clean the sink after they shaved?) and took a quick cold shower, which felt marvelous until she tried to put her sweaty clothes back on. Well, you win some, you lose some. Still, it helped. She crawled out onto the fire escape in the hopes of catching a breeze. It was better, but the heat was still bad. 

“What you doing? Running away?” She turned to see a sleepy Jack coming out to join her.

”Sorry. It was just too hot for me. I hope I didn’t wake you up.” She pushed his sweaty hair off of his forehead.

He smiled and shook his head. “You’re good. I wanna spend time with you, not spend it sleeping. Sorry about that. I’ll get a shower too. That sounds like a good idea. That okay with you?”

“Sweaty or clean? I choose clean,” she smiled. “Go for it. We have all night.”

She came back in and fixed two glasses of water as he showered. The table was sticky from the ice cream, so she cleaned that up too. And the crumbs. And swept, after discovering they actually owned a broom. Finally Jack came out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist and smiled at her sitting there, drinking her water. Her smile faded. “Oh, Jack.”

Jack looked down at himself. “I think I might have mentioned that this is how I’ve looked more often than not, babe. It’s fine. I’ll get better.” Katherine got up and went over to him, trying to find the best places to put her hands. “Just anywhere. Don’t worry about it.”

“Jack, no. Come here.” She went over to the mattress and laid back, arms open for him to join her.

“No fair. I just got a towel. You got all your clothes on.”

“I can fix that,” she said, sitting up and pulling off her shirt and taking off her bra. “That better?”

He grinned. “Almost.” He sat on his mattress and let his towel loose. “Let me help.” Kath laughed and let him take the rest of her clothes. “Oh, my goodness, Miss Pulitzer, you are naked.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, smiling up at him. “You’d better make sure.”

He held her gaze as he made sure. “Yup. You are the most beautiful person I have ever seen, have I ever told you that?” he murmured, lying down next to her, head resting on his outstretched arm.

“Once or twice. Oh, Jack, your back. Baby...” She leaned over him and started kissing him gently on his back. She made her way around to his front, his hands touching her gently as she moved. Gradually he stopped, and when she had finished kissing his bruises, she noticed that he had fallen asleep again. She stroked his arm, watching him sleep. And she’d had such good news for him, too.

Kath opened the apartment door as she heard Spot jingle his keys. “Come on in. Nothing going on in here. But thank you, Spot. And thank Race for me when he gets home, okay?”

“Sure thing. My brother owed me. Everything all right?” Spot looked over at a snoring Jack, sprawled out on the mattress under his towel.

“Yes, fine. I have to head over to campus to register for classes and get my room assignment. Tell Jack he has to check in with Mr. Kloppman, will you?” Kath picked up her purse and headed for the door. “Jack’s phone is charged now so we should be good to go there.”

Jack groaned and rolled over. Spot laughed. “Jack, buddy, I know it’s hot, but come on now.”

Jack startled and sat up, grabbing at his towel, clearly trying to remember where he was. “Kath...where you going?” he whined. “We ain’t...” He saw Spot smirking at him and stopped.

“Too late, my friend. You had all night.” Spot shook his head. “Ain’t my fault.”

Kath paused before heading out the door. “Jack, after you see Mr. Kloppman, go to the Y. They might still give you some hours if you beg hard enough. They had to give the full time to someone else, but they seemed willing to listen after I got through with them. See you later, baby.”

Jack stared at Spot in a daze as she swished out the door. “She’s an angel, right? Am I right? I’m so fucking right. Yes!!” He pumped his fist and flopped onto his back.

“She did all that for you and you couldn’t even show some appreciation? Damn fucking right she’s an angel,” said Spot, shaking his head.


	10. Jack in Ascendance, Kath Not So Much

“No sir, you won’t regret it. Yes, see you tomorrow. Thank you so much. Thank you. I won’t let you down. Thank you.” Jack rose and stumbled to the office door, not quite sure where the line stood between gratitude and groveling, and not sure that he cared. “Thank you sir.”

Mercy. She’d done it. He’d be the best employee they’d ever had. He’d do anything they wanted. He knew they wouldn’t let him coach after being in jail, but he didn’t care. He’d be in class anyway. He had work. Work! Between this and tons of hours at Kloppman’s, he’d have money in no time.

Jack walked past the front desk, a broad grin across his entire face. He went outside to wait for Kath, although it would be a while before she got there. No rush. Sitting on the bench, soaking in the sun, he closed his eye and turned his face up, loving being out of jail.

He felt someone light sit down next to him. Opening his eye, he smiled wide again to see Romeo sitting there. “Romeo! Buddy! How you doing? What’s new with you?!” 

Romeo scowled at him. “You left.”

Jack toned down his smile, taking in an angry little boy. “I was gone for a little while, yeah. But I’m back now. Tell me what’s going on. How’s swimming?”

“Where’d you go? Why didn’t you tell me you were leaving?” Romeo’s scowl deepened. “Was I bad?”

“Aw, Romeo, you weren’t bad. I’m sorry. I didn’t think I was going away the last time I saw you.” How much do you tell a little kid, Jack wondered. “I’m gonna tell you the truth, okay? It’s a little grown up.” Romeo nodded, eyes big. “A lady thought I had done something wrong and told the cops. They arrested me and I went to jail for a few days. But now I’m out and everything’s okay.”

“What did you do? When someone kills someone on tv, they go to jail.” Romeo swung his legs and looked knowingly at Jack.

Jack was regretting this conversation already. “No, I didn’t kill no one. This lady thought I was trying to take her purse, even though I wasn’t. But the police believed her and not me.”

“Why?” Romeo’s eyes were still big.

“Probably because she’s rich and I ain’t,” said Jack. “But anyway, I’m back now. I’m sorry I didn’t say goodbye.”

“What happened to your head?” Romeo pointed at the stitches.

“Someone in jail didn’t like me very much. It ain’t a very nice place, Romeo.”

“Does it hurt? Was there a lot of blood?”

“It hurt when it happened, yeah. It hurt a lot. And yeah, there was a lot of blood. But it don’t hurt now.” Jack wondered what Romeo made of him, all broken arms and missing eyes, and now this. Like fucking Frankenstein’s monster.

“My mom’s boyfriend went to jail for something he didn’t do too,” said Romeo. “He said his old girlfriend asked him to hit her. She was asking for it, he said. But he went to jail anyway. Why did she ask him to hit her?” He turned a puzzled look at Jack. Holy shit. Jack wasn’t quite sure what to say.

“Most people don’t ask other people to hit them. You’re right about that,” said Jack ruefully. “Is your mom’s boyfriend nice or mean?”

“Kind of both. He can be nice. He gave me a remote control car. But sometimes he’s mean.” Romeo scooched closer to Jack. “He said he’d hit Mommy if she ever talked about Daddy.” 

“That don’t sound very nice,” said Jack. “Does he ever say mean things to you? Or do mean things?”

“No. But I’m a little scared of him.” Romeo looked up at Jack. “I wish I was brave like you. You’re not scared of anybody.”

Jack bit his lip. “Listen, Romeo, you gotta fucking tell someone if he’s mean to you. You can tell me if you want. Promise you’ll tell me?” Romeo nodded solemnly. “Good. Now, how good are you at jumping off the big diving board?”

Romeo’s grin showed Jack his missing tooth. “I’m super good! I jump off it every day!”

Jack pointed at Romeo’s mouth. “Hey! Did you know you’re missing a tooth?” Romeo stuck his tongue through the gap. “You lose it in a fight?”

Romeo giggled. “No. It just came out. This one’s loose too.” He showed Jack his loose tooth as Kath pulled up.

“Nice,” said Jack. “Listen, I gotta go. I’m gonna be working again at the Y starting tomorrow, so you come see me, okay?”

“Okay,” said Romeo. He picked up his bag and went into the Y.

Jack got into Kath’s car and smiled at her. “I got it! And do I have a reward for you, Miss Pulitzer. Want to see it?”

Kath smiled. “Very much, Mr. Kelly.”

“Daddy??! I’m home!” Katherine called up the staircase towards her father’s study. She tossed her paperwork onto the table and headed for the kitchen. Yes, lemonade. Katherine filled a large glass with crushed ice and poured in the lemonade, taking the kitchen chair nearest the register. Cool air ran up her legs. She closed her eyes and put the glass against her neck. Jack would like to see that, she thought, smiling to herself. He’d been so thrilled about his jobs. How could she describe their latest adventure? Ecstatic? That was pretty close.

The kitchen door swung open, and Kath opened her eyes to see her father come in. “Hi, Dad. I got my room, and all my classes. I heard I should wait to get my books until the professor says if we’re going to need them. Want me to make you a lemonade too?”

Pulitzer walked over to the cabinet. “I’ll make my own, but thank you.” He fixed himself a glass of lemonade and sat in his usual chair. “Where have you been? With Jack?”

“Yes, Dad, I saw Jack this afternoon. He was lucky enough to get his jobs back.” Kath stopped her effort to be cheerful. “He’s not going to get the full time job at the Y, though, thanks to Lillian. And he has to do English again. And he has five stitches from jail. And he can hardly move since he was beat up so much. All thanks to Lillian.”

“Darling, not this again. It’s time to move on. Leave the boy alone and move on.” Pulitzer took a long sip. “I know you and I have been alone for quite a while, but I don’t think this is a productive way to push Lillian away.”

“Push...” Kath stammered. “You think I’m saying all this because I am jealous of Lillian? Daddy, please. I’m saying these things because she’s a piece of shit.”

“Young lady, that kind of talk will stop. Now.” Pulitzer put his drink down with a firm thump, ice cubes rattling.

“I’m sorry, Daddy. But I’m not jealous. That’s not it.”

“Do you expect me to stay single the rest of my life? Do you want me to be lonely?” Pulitzer asked. “Lillian makes me happy, Katherine.”

“Dad, no, I don’t expect you to be lonely. But maybe you can fall in love with someone better. Someone who doesn’t send innocent people to jail?” Katherine got up and dumped her leftover ice into the sink.

“Your attitude leaves a lot to be desired, Katherine. Perhaps some time in the dorm will help. You’ve been moping around here for weeks now. I have to say, if you can’t be pleasant and approach things in a more positive manner, you might want to consider going elsewhere when the dorms close for the holidays.” Pulitzer’s face had turned to stone.

Kath felt a chill grip her chest. “Are you telling me not to come home? Because I’m not happy enough about you and Lillian?”

Pulitzer got up and left the kitchen without another word. Kath leaned against the counter, breathless.


	11. That Does It

Kath leaned into Jack in the back seat, looking up through the rear window at the leaves starting to change. “Do you think he meant it? What does he want me to do?”

Jack kissed the top of her head and pulled her closer. “We still talking about this? He don’t seem like he jokes around too much, but I don’t really know. If he’s still paying for school I guess he just wants you to go there but not come back. I always got room for you. Me and Race. And Spot.”

“Very funny,” she laughed. 

“I mean it. You’d have to downsize a little, you know, to a box. A cute little box. I could draw some flowers on it or something so Race would know it ain’t his. And we’d have to share my chili, probably.” Jack said. “Maybe not. I got enough money to go get you vegetarian chili.”

Kath was quiet. Jack stopped laughing. “I mean it, Kath. You always got a place with me. Always.” Where would she go, he wondered. He should actually talk to Spot. But Charlie was coming in December, when he turned eighteen. Spot wasn’t running a hotel. Building one, yeah, but not running it. Funny, Kelly. “We’ll figure it out, I promise. Hey, maybe Lillian can send you to jail this time instead of me. At least you’d have your own bed then. Probably more food, too. It wouldn’t be so bad.”

Kath sputtered with laughter. “You’re the worst. How do you even joke about her after what she did?”

Jack shrugged. “What else am I gonna do?”

Dr. Schmidt finished his exam and rolled back. “So, you have the money this time for sure?” He smiled, pointing at Jack. He hadn’t asked about the new scar on Jack’s forehead, and Jack hadn’t offered an explanation. “You look like you’re doing well,” he said, gesturing to Jack’s button-down shirt. Used? Maybe. Still, nicer than his holey tshirts. The jeans and boots were the same, but the kid had made an effort for sure. He’d kept asking questions about colors of the prosthetic, and Conrad just had a hunch. He’d been wrong before, but not always.

“Yes, sir. I been working my ass... I been working a lot all fall. I got the money and I’m doing it this time. I even brought it all today so I can pay up front.” Jack took out a wad of bills from his jeans.

Conrad raised his eyebrows. “Well, I don’t know the exact cost right now, but you can pay the minimum total amount today.” Jack nodded, satisfied. 

Conrad paused. Just ask, Conrad. Jeez Louise. “Do you mind if I ask you a question, Jack?”

“Shoot.”

“Where do you work?” 

Jack looked startled. “Uh, I work at the Y and I work for a moving company. Why? It that bad for a fake eye?” He was confused.

“No, no, that’s not it. Have you ever thought about doing anything else? You’re a bright guy, seems to me.” Conrad fiddled with the prosthetic eye in his hands.

“Can’t do much until I get my diploma. I’m getting that next week, actually,” said Jack. Conrad almost dropped the eye. This kid hadn’t graduated from high school yet? He saw Jack watch him fumble with the eye. “I ain’t a super genius, I guess. Sorry. I had a few things hold me up.” 

Conrad recovered. “That’s fine. I was just wondering, maybe, would you be interested in learning how to make these?” He held up the eye. Jack’s mouth dropped open. “Someone has to make them, you know. It’s five years, but it’s paid. You’d make decent money. Better than you do now. Much better.”

Jack stared at him, mouth still open, head tilted a little.

Conrad patted him on the knee. “You think about it. I have an opening for an apprentice, but I’d need to know if you’re interested by next week.” He handed Jack the brochure he had put in his desk. “Read this through and think about it.”

“I been in jail,” Jack blurted out. “I didn’t do nothing. But I didn’t have money for bail.”

Conrad pointed at the scar. “Is that where that’s from?”

Jack nodded. Conrad saw a hard look come into Jack’s eye. “Thanks for the offer. It’s nice. But I get it. Guys like me don’t get jobs like that. Don’t worry about it. I’ll just go pay and get out of your hair.” He slid off the exam table. “I’ll see you when my eye is done, yeah?”

“Wait, Jack. What were you in for?”

“Resisting arrest and disturbing the peace. It was fucking bullshit. Sorry. It wasn’t right. I got fifteen days.”

“So, misdemeanors?”

“Yeah.”

“That should be okay. I’ll check. But it should be okay. Don’t go out and get convicted again, but let’s talk more next week for sure.”

Jack looked at Conrad and huffed a laugh. “Yeah, sure. Listen, I’m interested. How about you text me if you suddenly discover you shouldn’t be hiring no criminals?” He shook his head. “The answer’s gonna be no. Thanks anyway.”

Romeo decided to go to the Y anyway. He didn’t take anything. He could just play basketball, maybe, if the big kids let the little kids have a court. Maybe Jack would make them. The doors seemed heavier than usual. Romeo wiggled his loose tooth with his tongue. Would Jack be mad at him? Maybe Jack wouldn’t like him anymore. Romeo swiped his card and ran down to the gym. He heard Jack shout “hi” at him as he went past the desk, but he didn’t stop. He grabbed a basketball and found the little kids’ court already set aside. He played for a while, glancing at the gym door every now and then, kind of hoping and kind of not hoping that Jack would come. He took a break and went for some water at the fountain, and then went back to playing. Jack came in later and watched for a moment before clearing up the court next to them.

“Romeo,” he heard Jack say. He didn’t sound happy. Romeo ignored him. “Romeo, come here.” Romeo ignored him again. “Romeo, hey!” Jack’s voice sounded sharp now.

Romeo held his ball and looked over at Jack. “Hi, Jack.”

“Hi. You get deaf? Ain’t you gonna come over and show me your tooth?” Jack waited.

Romeo slowly came over. “See?” He wiggled the tooth. And he stood there. He couldn’t look at Jack.

“Yeah, nice. It’s real loose. Hey, let’s go get some water in the hall. It’s cooler out there.” Romeo followed Jack to the water fountain.

Jack squatted down and put his hand on Romeo’s shoulder. “He hit you?”

Romeo froze.

“You gotta tell me, Rome. You promised you’d tell me.” Jack’s voice was really soft. 

“I took the remote control car outside and it got runned over,” Romeo said. “He told me not to do that, but I did it anyway. I made a jump for it and it jumped and it went in the street. He said he’s not ever gonna get me another car. And he...” Romeo snuck a look at Jack. Jack didn’t seem mad at him. “He hit me with his belt. A lot. It really hurt.” Romeo could feel the tears coming, but didn’t want to cry again. He wiped his eyes fast and hard. “Then my mom told him to stop, and he hit her with his fist. And she fell down. And they yelled a lot. And he threw a chair at her. And then he hit me some more with his belt. And he punched me here.” Romeo pointed at his chest and slumped sideways against the wall. He raised his eyes to see if Jack was mad now. 

Jack had his head down, looking at the floor. “You and your mom staying somewhere else now?” he asked.

How did Jack know? “Yeah. Mommy said we’re gonna have a sleepover at my cousins’ apartment tonight. With popcorn. And maybe tomorrow night too.”

Jack raised his head and smiled at him. “That sounds like fun. You didn’t do nothing to get hit for, understand? This boyfriend, he’s the bad guy. You got it?”

Romeo nodded doubtfully. “But I didn’t listen.”

“That don’t mean he fucking hits you, you got me?” Jack’s voice got a little loud. Then he looked at Romeo and got quiet. “That don’t mean he hits you.” Romeo’s lip trembled as he flung his arms around Jack.

Jack took a deep breath. Lord, he was stupid. He pounded on the door. “Delancey!” He waited a second. “Delancey, open the goddam door!”

One of Oscar’s flunkeys opened the door. “What.”

“Get Oscar,” Jack ordered. “I’m not fucking around.”

Oscar came up to the door, rubbing his wet hair with a towel. He nodded at the flunkey, who retreated to the pizza on the kitchen table. “You must be the the dumbest fuck I’ve ever seen, Kelly. What the fuck are you doing here? Want to go completely blind? Want me to break a leg this time?”

“Don’t pretend I didn’t kick your ass already, Oscar, just you and me.” Jack rolled his shoulder. “I’m here to make you some serious fucking money.”

“Make me some money? You’re so generous?” Oscar half laughed. He saw Jack’s face and stopped laughing. “You’re serious, ain’t you.”

Jack kept looking at him.

“Come on in, then, you stupid fuck. Let’s hear it.”


	12. Scam Sting Bam

“Nothing.”

Oscar leaned forward. “Jacky boy, tell me why I get nothing. I’m real interested.”

“You ever get tired, Oscar? I mean it. You ever get tired of beating the shit outta people? Look here. You gotta diversify. You diversify, you make more money.” Jack kept his breathing steady. “I got something for you. If you try it, you could make a shitload more all on your own than what I can pay you. Just try it out once. You’ll like it. If you don’t, then I’ll pay twice the rate for the first job.”

Oscar narrowed his eyes. “So, I do the first job, and you pay nothing. Then I do a second one to make a shitload more than what I charge. If that don’t work out, you pay me double for the first job.”

Jack nodded a little. “What do you say?”

“What’s the other job?” Oscar eyed Jack’s backpack.

Jack grinned. “I was hoping you’d ask me that. You got someone prettier than you to do the second job?”

Oscar wished he didn’t feel like a fucking babysitter for his guys. Jack’s list was long. Number one, do it tonight. He didn’t want some kid to see. Number two, do it outside. Don’t trash this lady’s place. Number three, get all of the guy’s money and leave it in the kitchen. Number four, don’t take nothing. We ain’t animals. Number five, no yelling. No fuss. Shut his gob if he starts yelling. Number six, get the guy to swear he won’t never come back. Hurt him enough so that he says that and don’t want to see us again.

It was two fucking days before the second job opened up. He’d thought about just beating the money out of Jack before then, but he liked the look of dividing. No. Diverting. No. Divertimento. Shit. Oscar shut off the radio. That had sounded nice, though. Maybe they’d play it again sometime. Diversifying. That sounded closer to what Jack had said. He fingered the device, turning it over in his hands. Tiffany said it’d be easy. She’d wondered what had taken him so long, which got her kicked out of bed earlier than he’d wanted to kick her out. She had her clothes from her old job ready for the evening and Jack had shown them a picture. Tiffany said no problem. Like riding a bike. Just wait outside and she’d be gone before anyone knew anything.

Tiffany watched from the bar, drinking a club soda as slowly as she ever had in her life. Finally. She took off her jacket and headed over to the table.

“Can I take that up for you?” Tiffany asked. “Brenda’s swamped. I’ll be right back.” She swept up the bill and credit card, took it back to the register area, both memorized it and skimmed it, and tossed the bill and card on the counter. Exiting by the side door, she walked down the crowded street and slid into Oscar’s car. “Let’s go shopping, pumpkin!” she shouted, waving the skimmer and whipping off her wig.

Oscar was impressed. Jack might be on to something here. Less labor, more money. Maybe Jack would want to work for him, get a cut. He didn’t know what Jack’s problem was with this lady, but she definitely had a lot more money than Jack did, holy fuck.

Jack smiled appreciatively at the text from Tiffany. Good job, was all it said. He didn’t text back. Kloppman came in clutch, he had to admit. Kath had mentioned the dinner was terrible with Lillian, that she hadn’t made a bit of progress with her, but Jack hadn’t paid much attention beyond that. “Don’t you worry,” was all he said. “You stay with me when you’re done at school.”

He checked his phone again for any texts from Dr. Schmidt. Maybe this would work out? He’d go in tomorrow during lunch and see, or leave a message, or something. Making eyes sounded really cool. “What do you do, Mr. Kelly?” “I make prosthetic eyes, actually.” “Oh, really? That sounds very impressive.” “It is. You have to be a fucking genius. And you get paid a lot.” Well, maybe it wouldn’t go like that, but it was better than “I’m a fucking pack mule for rich folks.”

He thought back to Romeo this afternoon. Romeo had motioned for Jack to come over from scrubbing the water fountain.

“Romeo, how you feeling? You still at your cousins’ place?” 

“Mommy said we could go home. He’s gone now. Mommy said he isn’t coming back.” Romeo said, awestruck by the news he was delivering to Jack.

“Well, that’s good news, right? Who needs a guy like that around?” Jack asked cheerfully.

“Not me,” said Romeo, mirroring Jack’s smile. “I like it now.”

“Good. Your mom deserves someone nice, don’t she? And you too,” Jack added.

Romeo puffed out his chest. “Yeah. Next time I’ll make sure he’s nice first.”

“That’s my man. We can check him out together, yeah? You and me? Partners.” Jack stuck the rag back on his cart and held out his hand. Romeo looked at it, confused. Jack took his right hand and showed him how to shake hands. “Partners.”

“Partners, yeah.” Romeo’s face shone up at Jack. “I’m gonna go play some air hockey, okay?”

“Okay. Let me know how many people you crush. See you later.” But Romeo was already gone, disappearing into the game room. Jack went back to the water fountain, and started to whistle.


	13. Where Jack Is Sick and Gets in His Head

Jack felt like he was bashing his own brains in. How, how, how could this work. He stared out the truck window as they headed to their next job, cold rain running down the glass. Race was going to move into Spot's room anyway. Officially. Charlie on the couch. Jack and Kath on the air mattress. Spot hadn’t said anything other than saying they’d need a timer in the bathroom for showers and names on the food shelves, but the strain of the utility bill was obviously on his mind. Charlie already had a job to pay for his food, which was good. But Kath. Was she ready to live like this? For weeks? He wiped his still dripping face with the sleeve of his wet sweatshirt.

He didn’t have a chance of affording his own place. Not now, anyway. The places he'd actually checked out, even the boiler room place, laughed in his face when he answered truthfully about his record. He was grateful to Spot, to be sure. But Kath... she deserved better. Spending a night was one thing, but living with a bunch of assholes like them over her break was another. How could he get a place for the two of them. Just the two of them, in two weeks? He’d pay for her food now that he’d paid for his eye, but what if she didn’t like what he could afford? What if it wasn’t enough? Excuse me, darling, but you’re eating too much... Jack's heart sank. She’d never been hungry. She wouldn’t like it. Because he loved it, yes. Shit. Sweetheart, how much do you got in your bank account? The beans are on you next time.

Maybe she'd make up with her dad for Christmas. She'd get to sleep in her own bed. How hard could it be? Just act like Lillian was okay. That’s a small price to pay for a decent place to sleep and eat. Jack sighed. Over and over Kath had declared she would never go back, not after what Lillian had done. And being the dumb fuck he was, he’d always promised she could stay with him.

“Everybody out! Let’s go! Cover everything good so it don’t get wet!” Kloppman shouted. Jack and the others heaved themselves out of the truck and got to work. 

Jack hoped it would be worth it, calling in sick to Kloppman. Not that he wasn’t sick, he was, but he’d still work if he wasn’t going to be the world’s biggest dumbass this morning. Do not think about jail. Do not think about jail. He put on his button-down shirt, rolled up the sleeves to cover the missing buttons in the cuffs, and found his clean jeans. His sweatshirt would have to do. He looked at himself in the mirror. No, don’t. He could see his shirt through the hole in the shoulder. The cuffs looked bad. Fuck. He threw it on his mattress and left before he thought about it again.

“You can go in now, Mr. Kelly.” Jack smiled at the assistant and walked toward the office door. There was still time to leave. Leave, Kelly. Leave now.

“Jack. What brings you here?” Pulitzer strode toward Jack and stood in front of him. Jack held out his hand. Pulitzer didn’t take it. 

“Mr. Pulitzer,” he said, rubbing his hand on his shirt and letting it drop. Why hadn’t he practiced how to start.

“You have a new eye, yes?” Pulitzer leaned in to take a look.

“Yes, sir, I got it last week. I, um, I’m starting an apprenticeship to learn how to make them. In January. I start in January. Not too long now.” Yes, start with that. Good, Kelly. Jack felt some courage return when he saw Pulitzer look a little impressed.

“I’ll be an apprentice for five years. Would you like to see it?” Jack asked, putting his hand up by his eye to pop it out. Pulitzer recoiled. Fuck. You don’t offer people your eye, idiot. Jack ran his hand under his nose and sniffed.

“What can I do for you, Jack?” Pulitzer tried to recover.

Jack cleared his throat. “Mr. Pulitzer, I was wondering, if you, might, uh, consider letting Kath stay at home over break. She can definitely stay with me, that would be awesome, I would love that, but it’s gonna be a little crowded. Another kid is gonna move in, and it’s just, um, crowded. We’ll have five people in a one-bedroom apartment.” He coughed into his elbow, trying not to sneeze. He brought his arm down from his face and looked at Pulitzer, feeling his face get hot.

“Does she know you’re here?” Pulitzer asked.

“No, sir.” Jack gasped suddenly, trying not to let another coughing spasm take over. “No, sir, she doesn’t. She says she’s fine staying with me. And like I said...” Jack stopped, nearly collapsing with the cough he’d been trying to keep in. He bent over until it was gone, and slowly straightened. “Sorry. Like I said, I’d love it if she stayed with me, but I think she would be more, uh, comfortable at home. Sir.” 

Pulitzer gazed at Jack. Jack wheezed and doubled over once more in a coughing fit. He stood up again a few minutes later, running his fingers through his hair, hoping that Pulitzer had heard what he was saying and not thought too much about the plague that his daughter would likely get from him. He wiped his face with his palm and tried to compose himself. “Sorry.”

“Katherine is welcome home anytime, Jack. My only request is that she treat Lillian with the respect she deserves. Something, I might add, that also applies to you.”

Jack raised his face to meet Pulitzer’s, his face flushing, his eye blazing. “I didn’t do nothing to Lillian. I got a record now because of her.”

Pulitzer pointed at the door. “You’d have a record anyway. Out.”

Jack stumbled home, stopping every few minutes to hack up what was left of his lungs. Biggest dumbass in the world. And Kath would kill him. He flopped onto his mattress and tried to sleep until he was due for his shift at the Y. 

Katherine took out the thermometer she’d brought with her. “Figures. Only a fevered jackass like you would go talk to my father behind my back. One hundred and three. How in the world did you work today?”

“Kath, I’m sorry. I just thought maybe...” Jack rolled on his side and coughed a phlegmy cough.

“End it, already, Kath,” Race shouted from the bedroom. “Put him out of his misery before he kills us all.”

“In a minute,” Kath called back. “Maybe what? That the boy he thinks attacked his fiancée could persuade him to change his mind? You really are an idiot. I told you nothing had changed, and you’re the last person he’s going to listen to.”

“I know. I’m sorry.” Jack laid back, his sweaty hair stuck to his forehead. “It’s gonna be crowded, is all.”

“I can count, Jack.” 

“And I thought, maybe, you, um...” Was he really going to say this about the food?

“Would think it’s too crowded? Jack, I have eyes.” Jack winced. “Okay, sorry. I’ll be fine, I promise. I can buy one of those Japanese privacy screens, maybe. Dad hasn’t cut me off completely. He just doesn’t want me around. Maybe Lillian can lend me a credit card. Did I tell you about that? She got her statement a couple of weeks ago and wigged out. Someone must have hacked into her card or something. She said the company never called to warn her, but I doubt that. Serves her right, doesn’t it?”

Jack managed a smile. “It does.”

“I’m going to have to kill you now. Race’s orders.” She took Race’s pillow and held it over Jack’s head. “Ready?”

“Ready.”

“About fucking time,” shouted Spot. “I get his eye, right? As a souvenir?”

“I get the eye,” shouted Kath. “You get your filthy mattress back.”

“Fair enough. Get ‘er done.”

Kath laughed, putting her hand on Jack’s cheek. “Get some rest, darling. Spot will take your body away in the morning and hide it in the concrete mixer. No worries.”

Jack took Kath’s hand and kissed it. “You’re the best, Kath. I love you so much.”


	14. Getting to Know You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kind of short. And bleak. Sorry.

Jack shook against her every time he coughed. He rolled over and hogged the blanket, making the draft that much more acute. She knew there was probably a good reason Spot didn’t turn up the heat, but she wished Jack had said something so she would have packed better. Jack hacked again. Enough already. Love was one thing, sleep another. Kath slid off the mattress and crept onto the empty couch, grateful Charlie wasn’t there yet to take it, and grateful that Race had been gentleman enough to leave his blanket. How much longer was this going to last? He had been getting better, but now he was right back where he started. She admired her iron immune system. Not a sniff from her yet over the past two days, breathing in Jack’s germs. She glanced over at the kitchen corner and let her mind wander, trying to relax. What was Thanksgiving going to be like? No one had said anything. Should she try to do something? She could make mashed potatoes. Did Spot or Race even like mashed potatoes? She’d have to get a masher. Surely they’d want pie. She’d buy that. She’d...

Jack’s phone went off. She heard him curse quietly and reset it, but not long after that Race came out and started rumbling around the kitchen. The sleet clattered against the windows. Jack sat up, watched Race, and finally got up and stumbled over to him. “Gimme that,” he grunted, pointing at the pot of yesterday’s leftover coffee that Race was holding over the sink.

Race grabbed another mug and dumped it in. “Enjoy,” he whispered. Jack sloshed it back, made a face, and came back over to his box to put some fresh clothes on, hacking as he bent over to reach for his socks. Race made himself some coffee and stood leaning against the sink, watching Jack get his boots and sweatshirt on. Jack pulled off long pieces of toilet paper from the roll near his bed and stuffed them in his pockets.

Getting up, he went and stood at the counter, fixing and wrapping a peanut butter sandwich, trying not to cough. “There was this one time I was sick like this and my foster dad didn’t believe me, so he made me go to school. I puked all over the teacher. Then I puked in the living room when I got home. Got my ass whipped good for that one.” Jack wheezed and looked at Race. “Hope I don’t puke on my boss.” He put his sandwich in his backpack on top of his Y shirt and zipped it up slowly, glancing over at Kath. Kath waited for him to pack the rest of his lunch. She couldn’t remember what else he had on his shelf.

Race raised his mug. “He won’t kick your ass. He’ll just fire you. Good luck. Hey, why only one?” Jack looked over at Kath with a meaningful look. Race nodded.

Jack came over to kiss Kath goodbye. She pretended he’d woken her up. “Why so early, baby? You don’t even start for over an hour.”

Jack paused. “Fresh air does me good. I’ll see you later. Love you, babe.” He gave Race a wave, picked up his bag, and headed out the door. Kath lay there for a minute, saying goodbye to Race as he put on his Mets cap and headed out for work himself. Would Spot work today? She couldn’t remember if he worked in weather like this. Fresh air? On the subway? What did he mean... no. She almost actually kicked herself. 

Figures his fresh air would be like this, freaking dark and sleety. His sweatshirt didn’t do him much good after the first mile. Well, that’s a mile of not being an icicle, Kelly. Keep moving. He stopped to clear up his chest several times, wiping the melting sleet off of his face. He threw himself through the door at Kloppman’s, relieved he wasn’t late. 

“Still like death warmed over, Kelly?” Kloppman looked at him skeptically.

“Warmed over would be awesome,” said Jack, moving over to the radiator and blowing his nose. “We busy today?”

Kloppman waved a pile of papers. “Yes. No slacking. Just don’t give me whatever crap you’ve got.”

“No, boss. Wouldn’t dream of it.” Jack felt his forehead go hot as he convulsed over the radiator. Fuck. 

Kath slipped into the shower and was dressed and reading on the couch before Spot emerged.

“You done in there?” he asked, pointing at the bathroom.

“Yup,” she said casually. So strange to be here without Jack. Should she go somewhere? She hadn’t really thought about being here all day without him. Like Snow White. Hi ho, off to work they went. Except when construction was not possible, which rhymes with nothing, she tried to sing to herself in her head. So she’ll just read. Very cozy. And go get potatoes? It was like, what, seven? Should she... she didn’t even know. Back to her book, then. Spot came out in his sweatpants and sweatshirt and got himself some breakfast. He sat at the table, munching his sugar bombs, or whatever he had, not saying anything. Did he want to say something? Was she not being sociable? Maybe he liked morning time to himself. Did he want to ignore her? Should she be invisible? She read the same sentence five times.

“You a slow reader? You ain’t turned a page in about five minutes.” Spot grinned, his mouth full of cereal.

Katherine smiled, closing her eyes. “No, I’m not a slow reader. I just didn’t know if you wanted company for breakfast or not.”

“Don’t matter to me. Whatever you want.” Spot slurped another bite.

OK. Well, then, make yourself useful, Katherine. “What do you guys do for Thanksgiving? I’ve got time to do stuff. I know how to make mashed potatoes.” 

Spot shook his head. “Racer’s gonna be working. Double time. Black Friday shit. And Jack said Kloppman’s paying time and half for helping him do inventory and maintenance for a twelve-hour shift. Pretty sure he’s doing that. I’ll be at my brother’s most of the day. I like mashed potatoes, but you don’t gotta do them just for me. That’d be kind of weird.”

Oh. Jack hadn’t gotten around to telling her that yet. Well, she’d see what Race and Jack would want later in the evening on Thanksgiving, then. “Okay. I’ll think of something good,” she said as lightheartedly as she could manage. She went back to her book. Spot washed his spoon and bowl and went back into his room. She heard him flop on his bed and go back to sleep. Odd. Why did he get a shower then? It’s his place, Kath. She blinked back tears.


	15. Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Jack shook. One step at a time, Kelly. Jack stopped to cough, bending over with his hands on his knees. His head felt hot, his legs felt sloppy. Jack straightened up and staggered back into the house, rubbing his hands together and looking for the next box. Got it. Time passed somehow, box after box, table after chair after dresser after box. He shuddered in his wet sweatshirt. Was he hot? No. Cold. So, so hot. His face burned. He stumbled through the next job, and the next, unable to say much, mostly heaving up phlegmy coughs. The guys made him sit in the back with the furniture as they drove from one job to the next. In the dark, he sat with his back against a box and tried to sleep, the cold seeping through his jeans and freezing his sweatshirt.

“Kelly! You’re off. Get lost, and lose that goddam cough,” Kloppman shouted at him. Jack raised his head and raised a hand to show he understood. Picking up his backpack and taking out his sandwich, he shoved himself off the office wall and headed out to the Y. Jack took one look at the sandwich and ate it in two bites. Well, he’d get paid this Friday and could get more groceries then. He wondered if Kath liked this kind of bread or peanut butter. He wanted to go home, to curl up with her and make the world go away. He pulled the door open at the Y, swearing he would not watch the clock. He would not. Kloppman had hired him back out of a loathing for Lillian’s threats, but the Y, well, they had just been nice to hire him back. Focus, Kelly.

Shirt changed, Jack got the cleaning cart out and headed for the weight room. He leaned on the cart, coughing. Shit, he sounded like he was gonna puke all over the floor. Jack sprayed and wiped, shivering, working slowly. He almost wanted his wet sweatshirt back on. Finally, he finished. He pushed the cart back down the long hall, stopping to cough even more. What if, what if he just pushed it into the corner and he sat behind it, just for a minute. He’d take a shorter break later, he promised himself. He sat down, head on his knees, trying to catch his breath, his face feeling hot, his head pounding.

“What’re you doing?” Jack lifted his head slowly to see Romeo peering around his cart. 

“Hey, Rome, just taking a little br...” Jack hacked some more. “Break,” he croaked.

“You look sick,” said Romeo.

“I am.” Jack rubbed his face, trying to focus on Romeo. “I ain’t feeling too good.”

“Want me to tell them to get a doctor?” Romeo furrowed his brow. “Maybe they have chicken noodle soup.”

“No, no, don’t tell no one. I ain’t supposed to be on break yet,” Jack wheezed. He pushed himself against the wall to stand up. “See? I’m good.” Romeo suddenly got blurry. He was moving so fast Jack had to grab the cart to watch him. He cracked his knees on the floor and felt the cool tiles on his cheek. Fuck. Get up, Kelly. He pushed himself up. Try again. He pushed himself up again, and felt other arms pulling him up.

“Easy does it, Jack. Let’s get you to a doctor,” Jack heard someone say. “We’re gonna get you to urgent care. Good job, Romeo. He’s pretty sick.” Jack coughed violently and let himself be led out the door.

“Bye, Jack,” he heard Romeo, somewhere, say.

Kath dried her tears and read for awhile. Spot slept. The sleet seemed to have driven all the shouters away. Other than the occasional siren, it felt positively quiet. Bored, she got up and wandered to the kitchen shelves. She’d seen them before. She fingered Jack’s jar of peanut butter. The apartment was so, so quiet. Race and Spot had some items of their own, but suddenly she just felt sad looking at all three shelves on their own, no one reaching for an empty box or griping about something being stale. She opened the fridge. Equally unimpressive.

She’d fix that today. Fix a lot of things. What do guys even like? Jack could use “sick people” food for sure. She took a piece of paper and started her list, relieved to not have tears prickling her eyes anymore.

But first. “Spot?” She knocked quietly on his bedroom door. “You awake?”

“Yeah,” Spot said. “More or less. Come on in.” Kath opened the door as Spot put his book down.

“I’m going to go out for a bit and pick up some stuff. But before I do, I wanted to give you this.” Kath took out a wad of bills from her purse. “Can this go toward the heating bill? So we can turn up the heat? I don’t mind it so much, but with Jack being sick, I was wondering. I don’t know how much you’d need,” she said, suddenly embarrassed. Courage, Kath. “But I can help. Is that enough?” 

Spot took the bills and flipped through them. “For sure. Thanks. I felt bad, but there wasn’t much I could do, you know? At least he’s inside. But yeah, this is great. We can turn up the heat and this’ll help with the water too.”

“Spot?” Kath asked. He looked at her. “Our secret?”

“Yeah.” Spot gave her a real smile. “You’re safe.”

Kath smiled back at him. “I’ll be back.” Spot waved the bills at her, and she closed the door, still smiling.

Spot and Kath helped Jack through the door and slopped him onto the couch, and Kath tossed the antibiotics on the counter. They looked at each other, out of breath. 

“Kid eats more than he lets on,” Spot gasped. “Fuck.” He turned to Jack. “Hey, Jacky, pay attention. Look what Kath done for ya.” 

Jack rolled his head to look over where Spot was pointing. His bed. His bed? Kath got sheets? And a blanket? A nice one. A really nice one. He tossed himself onto his mattress and felt it. “Kath? Come ‘ere, babe, let’s try it out.”

“Not on your life. I don’t have a death wish. I’m on the couch until you’re better.” Kath came over and wrapped it around him. “But you enjoy your death shroud until then.” Jack groaned and laid back, pulling the blanket over him.

“You missed the best part, Jacky,” snickered Spot, filling a glass with water. Jack lifted his head a little and grunted a question.

Kath held up pajama pants. “So you don’t have to wear your jeans when it’s cold. You’ll sleep better.” Jack looked at Spot and managed a weak laugh. Spot splattered his water all over himself as he laughed after taking a drink. “What? I thought you liked baseball.”

“I do,” said Jack hoarsely. “Give ‘em here.” He pushed off his jeans and put on the Yankees pj pants. “Race can fight me.”

Jack coughed through the night. His alarm went off, and he cursed it quietly. It was almost easier to get up with jeans on and his old blanket. This thing was fucking warm. Race emerged and Jack got up, dressing as quietly as he could. 

“Jack? You gotta take one of these?” Race asked, pointing at the antibiotics.

Jack nodded. “Just a sec.” He went over to Race and pointed at his old coffee. “Gimme that?” 

“Why?” asked Race. “You got your own.”

“Don’t fuck with me. Please just lemme have it,” Jack whispered, trying not to cough again. Race took Jack’s chin and pointed his face to his shelf. Coffee. Cereal. Beef jerky. Jelly. Chicken noodle soup. His stomach rumbled. He turned to Race. “Fuck your old coffee. Here, put some of mine in with yours.” Race grinned and waited for Jack to open his coffee can.

“Jack?” Kath murmured from the couch. “The doctor said you had to rest for a few days. What are you doing?”

Jack coughed again and came and knelt by the couch. “Gotta work, Kath. The doctor ain’t paying my rent. Thanks for the food.” Kath watched as he packed his antibiotics and lunch, put on his sweatshirt, and headed out into the snow.


	16. Kath Freaks and Has Thanksgiving

Kath arrived arrived at the soup kitchen at eleven and looked around for David. No sign, although there were plenty of people in the kitchen bustling around. She hung in the doorway, not quite sure how to help. A few people looked up at her and smiled, but for several minutes she just watched. Finally, a woman came over to her and looked at her expectantly.

“I’m here to help,” said Kath. “What do you want me to do?” 

“Oh! Well, perhaps you can cut the sweet potatoes,” said the woman, pointing at the bowl on the counter. “They’re already peeled. Wash your hands and get started with that and I’ll check on you later. The doors are going to open, so maybe get those done so they’re ready by noon.” Kath watched her bustle away, washed her hands, and slowly approached the bowl. She picked up a potato and the knife nearby. Just cut them on the counter? Was it clean? Was there a cutting board? No one was paying any attention. She cut slowly, hoping that if she was doing it wrong they tell her in time, before she finished the entire bowl. She knew how she did it at home, but were these going to be mashed? Or not? People came in, taking seats at the tables in the dining hall. Would they care if the potatoes were mashed or not? Where in the world was David?

“Honey, please. These have to get done. Here, I’ll just do them. Why don’t you have a seat and I’ll get you if there’s anything else to be done.” Kath was ushered to a chair, seated by the soup kitchen guests. No one came back to ask for her help, and before she knew it she was in line with a plate in her hand, choosing her Thanksgiving dinner. Meekly she sat back down at the table and ate. The men near her smelled, and were silent.

The woman across from her had no teeth, but smiled at her. “Good, right? They always got good food here.” She wrapped up her rolls in her napkin and put them in her coat pocket.

Kath tentatively smiled back. “Yes, very good.” Should she say she was here to volunteer? This woman obviously had the wrong idea.

The woman reached across the table and patted her hand. “Happy Thanksgiving. You have a blessed day. You need anything, I’m Abby. Everyone knows me.” She pointed around the room as she got up to leave. Kath tried to smile again, but didn’t know what to say. Where was David? Kath ate more quickly, praying no one would think she was here for the food.

As she finished, David tapped her on the shoulder and squeezed in his chair next to her, putting his plate down on the table. The silent men moved their chairs down. “Where have you been? I couldn’t find you!”

“Couldn’t find me!? I couldn’t find you!” Kath exclaimed in relief. “I was booted out here and now everyone thinks I came here for the food!”

David took a bite. “Didn’t you? You came here to make it, right? Did you think you wouldn’t have any?”

“But it’s not for me! I came here to make food for them, not me! I have an order at Jacobi’s waiting for me to take home...” Kath stopped. David watched her as he kept eating. “It’s just so embarrassing that...” David kept watching her for a moment.

“Jack ate here as a kid. And you know he came here earlier this year when he got hungry. Dad said he went to another kitchen this summer so he wouldn’t see me when he ran short.” David slid his piece of pie to the center of his plate. “I’m glad you’re here, in any case. It’s nice to see you again.”

Kath smiled. “I’m glad you agreed to let me come, even though I wasn’t one bit of help. I just couldn’t sit around all day, moping in that tiny apartment.”

“You should come back. I bet Jack will be working Christmas, too. I’m always here on Christmas. My dad, too. See you then?” David stood to go.

“Yeah, maybe. Depends on Jack’s schedule.” Kath took her plate and followed David to the drop off. “See you later.”

Kath walked back to the apartment, hands in her coat pockets, watching the sidewalk. She knew Jack had been there. She didn’t know he ate with the silent, smelly men, that he’d been there as a child. There had been plenty of children there today. Was he destined to be like those men? She tried to imagine herself going there to eat with Jack, with no other choice, eating silently. Would they be that poor? Of course not. Don’t be silly. You’re in college and you’ll have a career, Katherine. Jack has an apprenticeship lined up. Don’t be dramatic. She tried to picture Jack going through the line, taking food from David. She saw herself go through the line today, taking the food from other volunteers. Did people think she was that poor? Probably. In these clothes? Maybe. It’s not like she’d dressed up to go there. She pushed open the door to Jacobi’s and patiently waited in line to pick up her order for the four of them. The boys would eat at home today, whenever they got home.

“Kath? Baby? I’m back.” Jack called, his voice rasping. He kicked the door closed behind him, stopping short at the line of food set out on the table and the counter. “What’s all this?”

Kath looked up from her book. “Just a little something for you and Race, especially. There’s plenty for Spot, too, if he’s still hungry when he gets here.”

“Race got another shift. He won’t be home till late. Are you serious? Where did you get all this?” Jack grabbed a fork and started eating out of the containers. “Damn.” He shoved more food into his mouth.

“As the containers plainly say, I got it at Jacobi’s. And I know for a fact that Spot owns some plates.” Kath unwound the blanket and went to the cabinet with the plates. “Want to join civilization?”

Jack swallowed and wiped his mouth with his hand as he took a plate. “Sure. How much was all this, Kath? I got time and half today, but I won’t see it for two weeks. Tomorrow’s checks go to Spot for rent for December and stuff.”

“This is a gift from me to you guys for letting me stay here. Just eat it.” Kath filled a plate for herself and sat with Jack.

“Jack...” Kath started. Jack looked up. “Jack, I’m sorry you had to go to soup kitchens when you were little. And this year too.” 

Jack slowed his chewing. “Was it so bad today?” 

“No. It wasn’t. I just... I’m just sorry, is all.” Kath played with her food with her fork.

“Kath, babe, going to a kitchen was one of the best things that happened to me as a little kid. And this year, yeah, well... it happens.” Jack reached over and rubbed her hand. “It ain’t fun, but it’s better than stealing or starving to death, right?” Kath started to cry.

“What’s the matter? Did someone say something to you? What’s going on?” Jack got up and came to her side of the table, squatting down next to her chair as she turned to face him.

“I just, I saw... We won’t have to do that ever, will we?” Kath asked, ashamed of asking. “What if we don’t make it?”

Jack held her hands. “We’ll make it. I swear we will. You will for sure. I sure as hell am gonna try. We’re gonna be fine. Just hang on, okay? I’m almost there, right? January?” He knelt on the floor and put his hand by her ear. “I know you don’t wanna kiss me right now with the plague and all, but can we just cuddle for a bit?” He wiped her tears as she nodded and let him take her to the mattress.

“I love this blanket, you know that,” Jack said as she snuggled her back up against him. He covered them up and wrapped his arms around her. “Warmest thing since I stayed with this one lady a few years ago. You warm enough?”

Kath murmured a yes as she began to relax. “We’re gonna be okay, Kath. You and me.” Jack held her close, but didn't sleep.


	17. Charlie Turns 18

Jack drummed his fingers on the library table. “He said he’d be here,” he said apologetically to Mayer. He checked the clock again. Stupid kid knew Jack had to be at work soon.

Mayer puttered at his desk. “He’ll be here. I saw him today and reminded him.”

Jack got up and headed back to the art books. “Mind if I look at these? Can I still take them home?”

“No, I don’t mind, but no, you can’t take them home. You should use the public library now.” Jack shrugged and pulled one off the shelf. 

Finally, Charlie appeared in the doorway, out of breath. “Sorry. I forgot. I got back here as fast as I could. Which ain’t fast.” He fell into a chair and dropped his bag and crutch on the floor.

Jack got a chair and sat back in it. “And how could you forget? You don’t forget.”

“Stressed out, I guess,” said Charlie. “I got just a week left before they kick me out. I don’t want to end up on the street or in jail, Jack. I know you said you’d take me, but I guess I’m still a little nervous.” Jack tried not to cringe. Some example he’d been. He glanced at Mayer and tried to smile.

“I got you, Charlie, don’t you worry. It’s gonna be a little crowded, but you got a place, understand? I wanted to talk to you about what we’re gonna do on your birthday.” Charlie stared at the table. Jack put his hand out where he’d see it. “Hey. You’re gonna be okay. You even get the couch, Spot said. You rate higher than I do, you lucky bastard.”

Charlie laughed a little at that, Jack was relieved to see. “So what’s the plan?” Charlie asked.

“I’m gonna be right here with you, after school. I’ll meet you and Albert here. By the front door. We’ll go get your stuff, like with me, but this time you and me leave together. And we’ll go straight to Spot’s. Race and Kath will be there, cuz then I gotta go back to work. They’re letting me off about two hours for this, okay? I’ll come home as soon as I’m done for the night. Race and Kath even said dinner that night was on them, so you enjoy that. And I’m gonna bring a cake after work. We’ll have a party, right?” Jack tried to catch Charlie’s eye to see if he could get him to smile. “What kind do you want?”

Charlie shrugged. “It don’t matter. Chocolate, I guess. Can we have ice cream, too?”

“Yeah. You think I’m gonna let Mayer throw a better party than I do? You can have two kinds.”

“Okay. Strawberry and vanilla.”

“Vanilla? Seriously?”

“It’s my fucking birthday, Jack. I’m the one getting thrown out, remember.”

“Vanilla. And strawberry. You got it.” Jack looked over at Mayer again. “Check me out, being a big spender. Well, me and Spot.”

Mayer winked at Jack. “Charlie, come see me before you leave school that day. Old dogs can learn new tricks.”

Jack waited for Charlie and Albert, hoping no one thought it was strange he was hanging around. He checked his phone again for the time. Go get his stuff. Easy. Don’t even think about it. The bell rang and Jack searched through the crowd, first finding Albert and then Charlie.

“How you feeling, kid? Ready to be set free? What did Mayer want?” Jack held out his hand to take Charlie’s backpack, which Charlie ignored. 

“This fucking sucks.” Charlie said flatly. Jack bit his bottom lip a bit.

“That’s true. I ain’t gonna argue with you.” Jack turned to Albert. “How about you? You got what, four months?” Albert didn’t even look at Jack. “Any new kids come in lately?” Still nothing. Jack gave up and just walked with them for a couple of blocks.

“Listen, guys,” he tried again. “It’ll be okay. You won’t end up like I did. You always got a place with me, hear me?” Silence.

“Charlie’s a dick, anyway,” said Albert. “The new kid’s better.” He started to walk faster.

Jack sped up and grabbed Albert’s shirt, pushing him up against a wall. “Say that again. Do it.”

“He is! He’s a fucking dick! I hate him! I hate you! You think you’re gonna make it all better, dragging us off to some ghetto? You can’t even give Charlie food! That’s nice, Jack! You think we should be so grateful? Fuck you!” Albert spat in Jack’s face. Jack grabbed Albert with both hands and threw him down, wrestling him onto his back. Jack sat on his chest, pinning his arms as Albert struggled to get free. He drew his fist back and punched Albert in the face. Albert looked at Jack in shock, then fury, writhing on the ground. Jack got off of him and grabbed him again, pushing him back up against the wall surprisingly easily. Albert felt like a rag doll.

Jack leaned forward. “You been on the street, Albert. Is that what you want in four months? Hm? You want that? You wanna lose an eye? Get your arms broke? You got a place to go, always, with me. Hate me all you want. You don’t hate Charlie. Now go say you’re sorry.” He shoved Albert towards Charlie.

Albert glared at Jack and then the ground. “Sorry,” he muttered. “You usually ain’t a dick.”

“It’s okay,” said Charlie, smiling. “You’re always a dick.” Albert looked up angrily, saw Charlie’s face, and relaxed some, giving Charlie a light shove. 

Jack’s hands were sweaty as they went down the hall to Charlie and Albert’s apartment. They said they wouldn’t press charges... He’d replaced everything... but maybe they were still pissed? He looked at Charlie, who was clearly terrified. He elbowed Charlie and gave him a grin. “Freedom, Charlie, am I right?” Charlie tried to smile back.

Albert had his key out and opened the door. Some people were so fucking predictable, Jack thought. There they were, Charlie’s bag packed and ready to go. Nope, no money this time either. Fuck them. They obviously weren’t expecting to see Jack, who carefully stayed in the hall, leaning against the far wall.

“Let’s go, Charlie,” Jack said quietly. “Gimme your bag and let’s go.”

Albert got out of Charlie’s way, and Charlie came out to Jack with his bag. He turned back. “Bye,” he said. “See you later, Albert.”

Jack took Charlie’s bag and started down the hall, not trusting what he would say if he stayed any longer.

“Charlie!” called Kath. “Race, Charlie’s here!” She got up to give Charlie a hug as Jack brought his bag over to the couch. “How are you?” Charlie half smiled.

Race came out of the bedroom. “Charlie, hi. Glad you made it. You get the comfiest couch in the world. My gift to you.” He gestured grandly to the couch. “And happy birthday. We’ll try not to make it suck too much.”

“Thanks,” said Charlie. He stood awkwardly by the counter.

Kath took his elbow and turned him toward the shelves. “Here’s your shelf, Charlie. Mr. Jacobs texted me about the gift card he gave you today. What do you say you and I go grocery shopping with it before Race gets our pizza?”

Jack hovered in the background. “Uh, say, Charlie? I gotta get back to work, okay? I’ll be back later. With cake. And ice cream.” Charlie quickly turned toward Jack, his face uncertain.

Jack saw the panic in his eyes and came over. “It’s gonna be okay. Get some food, eat some pizza. I’ll be back in no time and we’ll have a party. Ain’t nothing gonna happen.”

Kath pulled out the chairs at the table. “Let’s make a list before we go, okay Charlie?” 

Race stopped Jack on his way out the door, handing him some mail. “You see this? You better open it.” Jack looked at the envelope from Dr. Schmidt. Shit. He tore it open, heart hammering. He swallowed. 

“What is it?” Race asked quietly. “You still good to go in January?”

“I guess so,” said Jack. “It’s a bill, for my visits from this summer, I think. Due in thirty days. Race, I don’t got this kind of money.”

“This summer?” Race asked. Jack showed him the bill. “Some places are just slow, I guess,” said Race. Jack tossed it in his box, waved to Charlie and Kath, and went back to work. Time enough to worry about that later.


	18. Romeo, A Sucker, and Some Donuts

Charlie glanced over at Kath as they went down the sidewalk. “I got job, you know. At a pizza joint. Mr. Jacobs didn’t need to give me money.”

“Take it, Charlie. It’ll make him happy.” They passed a donut shop, and Kath put out her arm. “Hey, let’s stop. It’ll be my present to you, okay?”

Charlie shrugged. “Okay. If you’re sure.”

“I’m sure. Pick two and a drink.” Kath surveyed her options for a few minutes, settling on tea with two plain donuts.

Charlie looked at his chocolate filled donuts and hot chocolate. “Chocolate looks good to me, I guess.”

Kath scoffed. “Eat what you want. It’s your birthday.” She paid and they turned to find a table. “So how’s school?”

“Good. I miss Jack at lunch. I got teachers asking me about college applications, so there’s that.” He looked at Kath to see what she thought. She looked impressed. “We’ll see.”

“Jack would be proud, Charlie, if that’s what you decide to do. Did he tell you about his apprenticeship?” Kath asked.

Charlie nodded. “Yeah. Sounds cool. Jack wasn’t much for sitting in a regular classroom. He’ll be good at something like this.”

“How long have you known Jack, exactly?” Kath asked.

Charlie shifted around. “A couple of years. We were in two different homes together. He’d just come from this older lady he’d been with for like, five months, when she got cancer and couldn’t take care of him anymore. He got put in the home I was in. He missed her a lot. She used to play board games and cards with him all the time, and take him to stuff. Museums and plays, that kind of thing. Jack didn’t cause any trouble for her. Well, he said he got into her booze a couple of times, which she kept locked up, but I don’t think she ever knew. It wasn’t that great at the new place with me.”

“Is that when he started to get in trouble?” Kath hadn’t exactly asked for an outline from Jack, Charlie realized.

“No. He’d been in a ton of trouble before her. You know, like the one, uh, a while back where he, you know... Not every family was that bad. Some were okay, like I said.”

“So what was the family like where you met him?” Kath concentrated on her donuts. She heard Charlie sigh a little.

“Jack’s gonna kill me.”

“No, he won’t.”

“He ain’t told you?”

“Not much. Some, mostly having to do with bruises. I’ve guessed, mostly.”

“Maybe he should tell you.”

“Maybe you should spit it out.” Kath looked pointedly at Charlie. “You’re going to tell me sooner or later. And I love Jack. I’m not looking for reasons to dump him, you know. I am just curious about this gorgeous, intelligent, wonderful boy I am in love with.”

Charlie rolled his eyes. “I’m not so sure about the intelligent part. You might want to check on that. Okay, fine. The dad in that family thought Jack needed, I don’t know, a strong father figure or something stupid. ‘Real discipline.’ He didn’t think that about me or the younger kids, but Jack would argue, like, a lot, and this guy would beat him for it. Like the first time Jack ran away, just to see what this guy would do, Jack was all ‘I can do what I want,’ and this dad beat him with this big thick belt once the cops left. He beat him a lot after that, you know, when Jack would argue. He’d make us watch sometimes. Sometimes he’d take Jack into the garage and tie Jack’s wrists behind his back and use him as a punching bag, to see how long Jack could stay standing. Not on the face as much. Just where no one could see. He said it was to toughen Jack up. Teach him how to be a man. If he thought Jack fell down too soon, he’d hit him with the belt until he got up again. It was bad. Jack started drinking again, a lot, and stealing. We were pretty happy when we got moved. The family we were with last was good if you think about it.”

Kath stared at the bottom of her cup. Charlie slurped his hot chocolate. Happy birthday to him.

“And you, Charlie? Did he ever hit you?”

“Just once, when I yelled at him one night to stop beating on Jack with the belt. Jacky wasn’t doing too good. Anyway, he stopped and hit me. Jack went ballistic. He attacked this guy, jumped all over him. He went to juvie for that. We got moved because of that.” Charlie paused. “The other families I’ve been with have been okay. Some better than others, but mostly I kept my head down. Jack was a loudmouth at first. Except this last family. He calmed down a lot by then. Maybe cuz he was almost eighteen? I dunno. He didn’t want to go back to juvie. He met you, which changed him too.” Charlie smiled and looked at Kath.

“That can’t be true.” Kath frowned a little at Charlie, smiling back.

“It is. He didn’t get in much trouble at the last place. He stole money from Albert to buy booze once, but that was about it.”

“Ah.” Kath sighed. “Well, thanks for telling me. I mean, I knew some from the one time, and had picked up on other things, but he hasn’t told me a lot. I’m glad you’re staying with him, Charlie. With us. You’re a good guy to have around.” Charlie looked embarrassed and started gathering his trash. “What do you say we go get you some groceries?” 

With relief, Charlie grabbed his crutch and took his trash to the bin. “Sounds good to me. I’m ready to think about something else for a while.”

Charlie tried to chat with Kath in the store and on the way back to the apartment. He didn’t want to be rude. Jack really would kill him then. But there was Jack, collapsing on the floor, his face begging Charlie to help. Jack in cuffs, being shoved out the door. Jack being delivered to their last home after being released from juvie, angry and tired and dirty. Charlie blinked hard and tried to concentrate on the new neighborhood. Kath would have found out sooner or later, right?

“Jack? Hey, Jack, can you come here?” Romeo’s voice cut down the hallway from the gym.

Jack finished dumping the trash into his bin and pulled the cart down towards Romeo. “What’s up?”

“The basketball hoop is too high for me. Can you put it down?” Romeo pointed to the court he wanted to use.

“Sure thing. Hang on.” Jack put the cart in the corner, wiped his hands on the rag hanging from the handle, and went into the gym closet to get the hand crank. Hooking it in, he lowered the hoop all the way. “That better?”

“Yeah, thanks!” Romeo bounced his basketball and made a shot.

“You bet.” Jack left the gym and went back to getting the trash collected. Romeo was here awfully late, he thought. Kids his age wouldn’t be allowed in here on their own much longer. 

Jack clocked out and shot out the door. He wished he hadn’t had to leave Charlie right after he got there, but he was grateful his boss had let him leave for a couple of hours. He’d have to see if he could get more hours. Maybe he could get even more moving hours, although it made Jack tired just thinking about it. Still, he could anything for thirty days. 

A small figure caught Jack’s eye as he waited to cross the street. Romeo was walking awfully slowly. “Romeo!” Jack shouted, “Romeo, wait!” Jack crossed and jogged up to him. “What are you still doing around here? I thought you went home a while ago.”

“I did.” Romeo stuck his hands in his coat pockets. “I’m just walking slow.”

“Well, can I walk with you? Want me to take you home? You shouldn’t be out here in the dark by yourself, buddy.” Jack glanced around. “Your mom know where you are?”

“She’s working. She got another job. All I gotta do is text her where I am,” said Romeo. 

“Oh.” Jack thought a minute. He didn’t want Romeo out late, but taking him home just to be alone didn’t sound that great either. “You think she’d be okay with you coming to Charlie’s birthday party? You remember Charlie? The one with the crutch?” 

“Yeah, I remember. I can text her and ask.” Romeo took out his phone and texted for a minute. Jack blew on his hands and put them back in his sweatshirt pockets. They’d be waiting for the cake and ice cream. “She said okay but only if you take me home.”

Like he was gonna let Romeo wander the streets by himself late. “Tell her I will. Hey, we gotta hurry and get the cake and ice cream. You’ll help me carry them, right?” Romeo beamed up at him. That would be a yes, Jack guessed. He sent a quick text himself to Kath so they wouldn’t be surprised to see Romeo. “Let’s go.”

Getting the cake and two kinds of ice cream was the easy part, Jack sighed. Romeo wanted to get something for Charlie too, but had enough money to get just one sucker. “What flavor does he like?” Romeo asked, studying the display. 

“I dunno, Romeo. He’ll like anything. He ain’t fussy.” Jack prayed the ice cream wasn’t already melting. Romeo kept looking at the choices.

“Does he like pineapple?” Romeo turned the display to look at the ones on the back.

“Yes. Probably.” Jack moved toward the door. He couldn’t remember ever seeing Charlie have a sucker. 

“They have root beer flavored ones.”

Jack came over and picked a random sucker out of the display. “This one. Get him this one. He’ll love it, I promise.”

Romeo nodded seriously and put his money on the counter. “Okay. I really want him to like it.”

Jack took a breath. “He will, buddy. He’s having kind of a tough day. He’ll like it that you thought about him so much.” Once again Romeo’s smile lit up Jack’s heart. “Ready?” Romeo nodded and pushed open the door, sucker gripped tightly in his hand.

Jack and Kath walked back from Romeo’s, Jack taking Kath’s hand as soon as they got to the sidewalk. “That was fun, wasn’t it?” Jack asked, leaning in for a kiss. Kath paused to enjoy it. Hm...they’d have to find time in her car sometime, Jack thought. Her heated car. Jeez, it was getting cold.

Katherine nodded as they finished the kiss. “Romeo’s adorable. He was the cutest thing giving Charlie that sucker.”

“Does anyone really like cherry, though?” Jack wondered. “I hate that flavor.”

“Well, Charlie was good about it anyway. He sure liked his cake and ice cream.” Kath swung Jack’s hand. “We’re getting good at parties, aren’t we.”

“Oh, yeah. Maybe someday I’ll be able to afford candles,” Jack laughed. “Whoopee.” Jack had nearly died when Race asked where the candles were as they were getting everything ready. Count on Jack to not even get that right. Jack and Romeo had held up eighteen fingers and made Charlie pretend to blow them out one by one. Hardly the stuff of dreams, Jack had thought, kicking himself as he watched Charlie wheeze through the last few fingers.

“You did your best,” said Katherine quietly. “He liked it.”

“It was a shitty birthday for him. All I did was remind him he didn’t have no place else to go.” Jack scowled.

“He was with you. After all you’ve been through together...” Kath stopped.

Jack stopped walking and looked at her under the streetlight. “He say something to you? He tell you stuff?” His mind whirled back. “What?”

“He told me some. Just filling in the blanks, nothing more. About the older lady you liked, about the family where you met and,” Kath gulped a little, “what happened. And how you ended up in juvie the last time.” 

Fuck. “Well, if Charlie told you, it’s all true.” Jack started them walking again, still holding her hand. “Why’d you ask him and not me?”

“I didn’t mean to. It just sort of came up when we stopped for donuts.”

“You stopped for donuts? Seriously? Where’s mine? You didn’t get me none?” Jack tried to sound mad. “Some girlfriend. Buy my best friend donuts but not me.” 

Kath looked at him, batting her eyes. “However shall I make it up to you?”

Jack grinned. “I like them ones with the chocolate in the middle.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Oh. Well, you could get me them little frosted donut holes. Those are good too.”

“Jack.”

Jack leaned over for another kiss. “If we can find a heated car somewhere I’ll tell you how else you can make it up to me.”

Kath smiled and kissed him back. “Done.”


	19. Fluffy McFluff and Bad Memories

Jack adjusted his hood in the sleet, shoving his hands into his jeans pockets as he leaned into the wind. He liked the fat feeling in his wallet now that his overtime had come through. He had the perfect plan for Kath’s Christmas present. He pictured the little table with the candle on it, how impressed she’d be, him taking her out. He hadn’t done much since his pathetic picnic last spring, so now it would be different. He could show her he could do it. He wiped the sleet off his face. It’d be better if he could dress up a little, he thought. Maybe Race had something. Maybe not. One of the guys at work could help him out, probably.

He entered the restaurant, trying not to hear his stomach rumble. It was worth it. It would be worth it.

“Excuse me,” he said, “I’d like to make a reservation, please.” The host looked him up and down. “I got the money,” Jack continued, taking out his wallet and opening it in his cracked hands.

The host looked away. “You don’t pay now, sir. You pay when you come.”

Jack flushed. “I know. I just thought... Can I make a reservation, then?” He crushed his wallet back into his back pocket.

“Name?”

“Kelly.”

“For how many?”

“Two.” Jack smiled despite himself. He was doing it! She’d be so thrilled.

“For what date and time?”

“Um, the twenty-third. Please. At nine?” He prayed nothing would keep him at the Y that night. He looked nervously at the host as he flipped through the book on his table.

“Yes, sir. And Mr. Kelly,” the host added, “we have a dress code. A tie?” His eyebrows went up.

Jack ran his fingers through his hair. “You got it. Thanks for the heads up.”

Kath slowly slid the tray of cookies out of the oven. “Charlie, come look! Your cookies came out great!”

Charlie stood from the table and turned on his leg to peer over her shoulder. They did look good. “Should I cut out some more?” he asked. “Should we do some other shapes? Gingerbread men and women are great and all, but how about this one?” He held up a moose. 

Kath took a look. “Yes. Nothing says Christmas like a moose. Men, women, and moose.” Charlie smiled at her and got busy rolling out the dough. This Christmas vacation might not suck as bad as most. It had been kind of exciting, actually. He’d been nervous, sitting in Kath’s car as she rushed into her house and came out with a box full of baking supplies. “No one will notice. Lillian especially.” They skedaddled out of there, as she said, like bank robbers.

They turned to see who was home as keys rattled in the door. Jack leaned in, shaking the snow out of his hair as he came through the room. “What’s all this? It smells fantastic, and I’m starving.” He reached for a cookie and popped it from hand to hand. “Hey, these are hot!”

“Serves you right,” said Kath. “We haven’t even frosted them yet.” Jack took a bite, his mouth staying open in a big O as he burned his tongue. “Ah... ah! Ahh...”

Charlie handed him a glass of water. “You’re such a dork.” Jack grinned, gulping down the water. Charlie shook his head and kept cutting out more cookies. 

“Spot? Race? You’d better get out here if you want any,” Kath called. “Jack’s home.” She heard the bed creak and Race and Spot pretended to fight their way through the doorway.

“Outta our way!” Spot shouted. He bodychecked Jack into the wall, and Race picked Charlie up and tossed him laughing onto the couch. “Cookies!!” 

Kath held her hands up in surrender and backed away from the counter. “The barbarian horde! Please don’t hurt us! We’ll make more! But guys, seriously, they’re still hot!” 

Race turned to her, crumbs falling out of his mouth. “Good,” he said. At least, that’s what Charlie thought he said. It was hard to tell. He kept laughing. 

“You have reached Dr. Schmidt’s office. The office is closed until January 2. Please call back at that time. If this is an emergency, please, hang up and dial 911.” Well. It wasn’t an emergency. He just couldn’t pay, was all. Nobody could afford to give him extra hours until January anyway, except on Christmas, but even working then wouldn’t be enough. Not that plus his dinner with Kath. Not nearly. He tossed the bill back into his box and put his hands on his knees. He hung his head.

So strange to be here by himself. He raised his head to look at Charlie’s neatly folded blanket on the couch, Kath’s suitcase in the corner. They’d had quite the talk, hadn’t they, he thought. Charlie could be blabby for sure. So he’d told her, hm. Told her everything. He heard the snap of the belt as he waited, hands on the workbench. He knew better than to be smart. He did. Fuck him anyway. He kept waiting, head down. Charlie was watching, watching him get whipped again. He thought about the Hennessy hidden under his bed. Charlie would get it for him later. This guy wanted Jack to take it like a man? How come this guy never had to take it, then? Fuck. Jack sucked in his breath. Fuck, that hurt. He was a wuss. He stared down, swearing not to cry. He kept getting hit. And hit. Such a girl. You want more, you little shit? Teach you to be a smartass. This guy wasn’t stopping. You like that? Jack staggered. His arms buckled. Hit. And hit. You better not be crying. More. How many more. His knees. He looked up at Charlie from the floor, not sure why it wasn’t stopping. Charlie was yelling, he was reeling back in fear, and Jack heard the belt but it didn’t hit him. Charlie cried out, and Jack understood. Jack didn’t remember much until the cops came for him. The cops, bursting through the door. No, Kath and Charlie. Shit.

“Hey, guys, what you been up to?” Jack focused his eye on them.

Charlie held up a bag of hard candy and a wire wreath. “Kath’s gonna show me how to make a candy wreath. Good, huh? We’ll all be diabetic by next week.”

Kath came over and gave Jack a kiss. “Everything okay, baby?” she said.

Jack pulled her in for another kiss. “I’m feeling better now. A few more of these and I’ll be great. You can keep your candy. All I need is you.” Charlie made a gagging noise as he put the candy on the table.

“Shaddup, you,” Jack warned, smiling. “Keep your eyes on your little project there. Nothing what concerns you here.” He turned his attention back to Kath. “Now, where were we?”


	20. Romeo Overload

“Romeo, hold up,” Jack called. “Wait!” Romeo slowed and turned around as he reached the door to the Y. “Your mom at work tonight?” Romeo nodded. “How about if I sign you in until I get off in an hour? You can hang out here until I’m done and I’ll take you home. Or you can come to my place and I’ll take you home later. What do you think?”

Jack smiled to see Romeo’s face light up. “Okay. But my mom said she didn’t want me going back to your apartment. She said she didn’t know it was in a shittier neighborhood than ours.” Romeo covered his mouth. “Sorry. I’m sorry.” He looked guiltily up at Jack. 

Nice. But true. Jack managed a smile. “I get it. Okay then, gimme a minute and I’ll get you signed in under my name. Meet me back up here by the door in an hour, okay, and I’ll walk you home.” 

“Okay!” Romeo wheeled around and went back to the gym. Jack went to the counter and signed him in, glad he could walk Romeo home. He was so little.

Jack slowed down to Romeo’s pace, trying not to rush him along. Romeo was moving, but his legs were short. Jack moved his hands from his pockets to his armpits, pushing his chin down to try to block out some wind, glad Romeo didn’t seem to want to talk. Romeo turned into his building and led Jack to his door. 

“Wanna see my room?” Romeo asked excitedly. “You should see it!” He turned on the light and hung up his coat.

“Sure,” said Jack. It’s not like he was eager to head back outside. He followed Romeo through the little apartment to his room. Simple, but neat. A bed, a desk, a dresser. Romeo had put up dozens of his own drawings on the wall of airplanes, each taped as high as he could reach from his bed, Jack guessed. “You like airplanes, huh,” Jack said.

Romeo turned to face him, smiling proudly as he watched Jack look at his room. “You like them?”

“Yeah, they’re great,” said Jack. 

“I’m hungry,” Romeo said, squeezing around Jack to go back out to the kitchen. “I’m gonna have some spaghetti. Want some?”

Jack followed Romeo to see him take out a microwaveable dinner from the stack in the freezer. “No, thanks, buddy. Your mom probably wouldn’t like that very much.” He squeezed his stomach to try to keep it from rumbling, without much success. The dinner. The dinner is coming up. You wanna be short? Suck it up. “Need any help there?”

“No, it’s just the microwave. Duh,” said Romeo, quickly punching the buttons. He turned to look at Jack again. “Why do you call everyone ‘sir’ and ‘ma’am’ at the Y? You don’t call Mr. Jacobs that.”

Jack laughed. “Cuz I wanna keep my job, Romeo. People in charge like it when you do that. Customers like it, too. Makes them feel important. And I like working there. It don’t bother me to call them ‘sir’ or whatever.” 

“Mom’s boyfriend wanted me to call him that.” 

Jack bet he did. “Yeah. Sucky boyfriends too.”

“Did your mom ever have a boyfriend?”

Jack inhaled. “No. I don’t think so. But I’ve known a lot of guys like your mom’s boyfriend, so I know what you’re talking about.”

“Who?”

Oh boy. “Well, foster dads, mostly. Some just told me to call them by their first name. But some liked ‘sir.’ They were the ones that usually sucked, like your mom’s boyfriend.” The microwave beeped. Romeo opened the door and took his tray out, expertly taking the film off. Jack hoped he’d talk about something else now.

“What’s a foster dad?”

Jack blew out his cheeks. “Someone who says they’ll be your dad when you ain’t got no folks who can take care of you. Don’t worry about it.”

“Were they strong?” Romeo asked, not looking at Jack, getting a fork out of the drawer.

Jack waited a beat. “Yeah. They were usually strong.” Romeo went to the table and sat, and Jack pulled out a chair across from him. 

“Did they hit you with a belt?” Wow. He’d been thinking about all that? Still? This guy was long gone. But Jack still remembered, so why wouldn’t Romeo, Jack thought to himself. Shit.

“Yeah, and other shit, too,” said Jack. “It fucking sucked.” Romeo nodded vigorously in agreement. Time to stop now, Kelly. “Hey, you know what? Look at me. I’m strong now, right? Ain’t nobody messing with me anymore, right?” Jack took off his sweatshirt and flexed his arm. “Moving all that furniture makes me as strong as them, you know?” Romeo’s eyes popped as he slurped up his spaghetti, watching Jack’s arm.

“You wanna get strong?” Jack asked, pushing back his chair. “I can teach you how to fight.” 

Spaghetti forgotten, Romeo leaped out of his chair. “Yeah!” 

“Okay, so, show me your fist.” Jack tried not to laugh at Romeo’s tiny fist. “No, like this. You’ll break your thumb if you do it like that. Okay, now, punch my hands.” Jack held up his hands and Romeo pummeled them as hard as he could.

“Your hands look weird,” said Romeo. “Why do they look like that?” He put his fists down and fingered Jack’s hand.

“It’s what happens when you grow up and don’t do good in school. You get a job where you can’t afford no gloves,” said Jack. “Now come on, hit ‘em harder.” Romeo focused again on making a fist and pounding Jack’s hands.

“Stop, stop. You ain’t gonna win nothing standing like that. Put your feet like this.” Jack bent down and repositioned Romeo’s feet. “Now try.” Romeo punched Jack’s hands again, this time moving them a little. “Better. But you know what, you gotta get stronger.”

“How?” Romeo’s eyes got big again.

“How many pushups can you do?” Jack asked, going over to the little living room area. He got down on his knees. “Come here. How many?” Romeo got down next to Jack and followed him in getting ready. 

“Let’s go! Count!” Jack did a couple of pushups, turning his head to watch Romeo. He was so fucking cute. “Okay, wait. Stop. You ain’t got nothing in the right place.” He adjusted Romeo’s arms. “Okay, now. Let’s see who can do more.”

“That’s not fair! You’re bigger!” Romeo complained.

“I’ll do them one-handed, how’s that?” asked Jack.

Romeo brightened and nodded. “Go!”

Jack got down and started in on one hand, watching to see that Romeo wasn’t cheating. Not too bad. He kept going until Romeo stopped, and then did a few more. “I won!” Jack grinned, still propped up on one arm.

Romeo tried not to laugh. “How many can you do with me sitting on you!” he shouted, jumping on Jack’s back, pushing him to the floor.

“Come on, little man. I been working all day,” Jack groaned.

“Do it!” Romeo sat up on Jack’s back, tucking his feet behind him and holding on to Jack’s shoulders. “Go!”

Jack braced his arms and pushed up. Romeo giggled and pushed down. “Again!” Jack did it again, grunting, Romeo giggling even more. Jack managed nine more before giving out and staying down despite Romeo’s shouts to do it again. Finally Romeo rolled off of Jack and came around front to look at Jack’s face. “You gotta practice,” he said, scooting out of the way as Jack growled and swiped at him with his arm.

Jack got up on his knees and flung himself on the couch. “That’s it. But listen, Rome, do pushups every day and you’ll definitely get stronger.”

Romeo flopped down next to Jack. “Like you?”

“Yeah, like me,” said Jack. He glanced over at the kitchen. “You gonna finish your spaghetti?”

Romeo shook his head. “I’m good.” 

Jack got up and went over to the table. “I’ll get this cleaned up, then. You don’t want your mom coming home to no mess after she’s been working all night.” He brought the tray over to the trash, glancing back at Romeo. Romeo was fiddling with his phone. Jack took the fork and ate huge bites of the leftover spaghetti, his back to Romeo, scraping the tray clean before pitching it. Going over to the sink, he washed the fork and put it in the dish rack.

“Hey, what are you getting your mom for Christmas?” Jack asked, wiping his mouth with his hand and coming back to the couch. He put his sweatshirt back on as he sat down. 

Romeo shrugged. “Mommy said she didn’t want anything. She wasn’t sure if Santa would have time to come this year, either.”

Jack looked at Romeo. “Some years are like that. That’s okay. Hey, maybe you could make her a picture. Like a picture of you and her. She’d like that, I bet.”

“Yeah. I did that for her birthday, though.”

“Oh.” Jack and Romeo sat for a minute without saying anything. “Hey, how about I give you a little money and you can get her something. You know, nothing big, but maybe something she’d like. She have a favorite candy bar or gum or something?” Jack dug his wallet out and took out five dollars. Guess he’d have water at this dinner with Kath. Whatever.

“Yeah! She likes Hershey’s! With almonds.” Romeo’s face broke out into a big smile. “She’ll be super surprised!” He took the money as Jack tossed his wallet on the coffee table and leaned back.

Jack grinned back at him. “Good. And be extra good on Christmas, okay? Don’t complain about nothing, even if Santa don’t come.”

“But maybe he will,” said Romeo hopefully.

Jack caught his eye. “Santa sees your mom giving you lots of stuff already. She got you a nice bed and some clothes. You got a stack of food in the freezer, yeah? You got this nice place with a microwave? Don’t give her no hard time about Santa, you understand?” Romeo nodded silently, watching Jack.

“Wanna watch a movie?” Romeo asked.

“Sure,” said Jack. “Whatever you want.” He stretched his legs out as Romeo put on Cars. 

Jack watched the movie semi-consciously, waking only a little as he felt Romeo put his feet on his lap. Later he felt Romeo lean against him, his head dropping into Jack’s chest. He was a warm little thing. Jack relaxed and fell asleep.

A light snapped on. Jack gradually heard the sound of a woman’s voice gasping. She was looking for something, whispering fast to herself. Then she spoke, loud and harsh. “Get out. Get out or I shoot.” The fuck. Jack jerked fully awake. Romeo was gone. The tv was off. The light was so bright. He held up his hand, slowly, shielding his face.

“I’m Jack. I...”

“Get. The. Fuck. Out. Now.”


	21. Money money money money

Jack saw the gun. He raised his hands. “I’m going. I’m going. Please.” He got up slowly and kept his hands up, watching Romeo's mother as he went toward the door. “My name’s Jack Kelly. I know your son. Please don’t shoot. I’m going.” She followed him with both hands on the gun, her face nervous, not saying a word. Jack got to the door, turned and fled down the hall.

Jack leaped down the stairs, hoping she wasn’t aiming her gun at his head as he ran outside. Did she call the cops? Were there cameras? Romeo would tell them it was him. Hell, he had told her his name. He hadn’t done nothing wrong. He ran until it occurred to him that running wasn't a good look. He stopped in an alley, hands on his knees, catching his breath, exhaling huge clouds. What the fuck was that. If he'd been Romeo's mom he would have been scared, too, he guessed, finding a strange man alone on her couch. Maybe she thought he'd throw a chair too, like that winner boyfriend. Romeo must have gone to bed and turned out the light. Fucking hell, kid. Jack straightened up and leaned back. Something was missing. His hand went to his back pocket and found it empty. He tilted his head back until it hit the wall. Well, he sure as fuck wasn't going back to get his wallet tonight.

Kath rolled over as Jack tried to slip quietly into his pj pants. "Where have you been? You didn't answer any of my texts," she whispered.

Jack leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Looking after Romeo. But I fell asleep." He ran his hand under her sweatshirt. How could she possibly be this soft and warm? "How deep asleep is he?" 

"Your hands are freezing!" she whispered. "Gah! Stop!" She rolled back away from him.

"Not that asleep," said Charlie. "Keep it in your pants, Jack."

Jack gave an audible sigh. "You guys are no fun. First I almost get shot, then no one wants me to have any fun."

Kath turned back over. "Wait, what? Who almost shot you? I thought you were with Romeo!"

"I was. And then I fell asleep on the couch. He must have turned out the lights and gone to bed, and the next thing I know his mom has a gun on me and is telling me to get out."

Charlie snorted. "Good job, Jack. Only you would be the burglar who takes a nap and gets shot."

"Did you tell her who you were?" Kath asked indignantly. "Honestly."

"Uh, yeah, I did. She wasn't being a good listener, though, my darling. She really wanted to shoot me." Jack came in for a kiss. "Guess I look bad and dangerous. Just your type, right?"

Kath laughed and kissed him. "Good night, baby. Glad you're here now."

"Yeah, good night, baby," said Charlie. "Good job not getting yourself killed."

Jack held the shirt up to his chest. “That looks about right, don’t it?” Race raised his eyebrows. Jack put it on over his tshirt. “How about now?” The sleeves were too long, but it was okay, he thought. He rolled up the sleeves.

“I don’t think this place wants you to roll up your sleeves, Jacky,” said Race. “You sure you wanna take her there? Since when do you have that kind of money?”

“Yes, and since I been saving overtime and grocery money. I cut way back on my lunches and stuff. I’m not gonna have much when we’re there, but Kath can order what she wants.” Jack tried on the pants. “Think they’ll notice if I fold up the pants?”

Race grimaced. “You didn’t think this one through, my friend. Is it clown night? Here, fold it up on the inside, and it won’t show as much. I got some tape somewhere. We can tape it up inside the leg.” Jack waited while Race fussed with the legs and got the tape. Kath would be so impressed, seeing him like this. 

“Race, I don’t know how to tie this tie.” Jack put it around his neck and tried tying something.

“It ain’t a lasso. Here, let me.” Race tied it and tightened it. “Let me know when it’s too tight.” 

“What am I gonna do tomorrow? You’ll be at work when I get off.” Jack pointed his chin up and wriggled his finger under the tie, trying to loosen it.

Race pulled the knot down and took it off over Jack’s head. “Here, just leave it like this on the doorknob. Then tomorrow you just put it over your head and tighten it, okay? Like this?” He showed Jack how to tighten it. “What are you gonna wear for shoes? I lost mine a few moves ago.”

Jack looked down at his socks. “I hadn’t thought about that. I just got my boots. You think they’ll look at my boots? Really?”

Race shook his head. “They’ll look, for sure. Guess you’ll just have to hope they’ll let you in.”

Jack admired himself in the mirror on the closet door. “They won’t be looking at me anyway. They’ll just be looking at Kath.” He glanced at Spot’s radio. “Shit, I gotta get the to Y. Thanks, Race.” He tore off the shirt and pants and jerked on his jeans and Y shirt. “See ya later.”

Romeo waited at the counter until Jack was done moving the laundry along in the laundry room. “Just a sec,” Jack called. “I gotta get these folded. You can come with me when I take them up to the weight room.” Romeo leaned his shoulder against the counter and slid up and down the entire length until Jack was finally done. 

“Mom said she wanted to say sorry and she wants you to come over tonight.” Romeo trailed Jack up the stairs.

“She gonna shoot me? You didn’t tell me your mom had a gun.”

“She thought you were a robber. She woke me up to see if I was okay and I asked where you were and then she was sorry.” Romeo ran his fingers along the balusters. “Can you come?”

“Yeah, I can come. I left my wallet, so I gotta get that anyway,” said Jack, opening the weight room door. 

“Okay. I’m gonna play air hockey.” Romeo turned and left, before Jack even had a chance to say anything more.

Jack let Romeo go in first. “Mommy, we’re here!” Jack peered over Romeo’s shoulder, relieved to see his mother sitting calmly at the table going through some mail. No target practice yet. She looked up and smiled at Romeo, then at Jack.

“Jack, come on in. I won’t shoot you.” She stood up and came over to where he was standing, just inside the doorway. “I’m Grace.” She held out her hand.

Jack shook it tentatively. “Jack. Kelly.”

“I’m sorry about last night. It scared me, seeing you here, with no warning.” She shrugged. “It was late.”

Jack nodded. “I get it. Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to fall asleep. Romeo and me had a movie on and I just fell asleep I guess.”

Romeo laughed. “You were snoring! You sounded so funny.”

Grace gave him a look. “Well, it’s nice to finally meet you without putting a gun in your face. Romeo thinks you’re something else.”

“Yeah, weak! He could do only ten pushups with me on him!” Romeo giggled.

Jack poked at him. “Eleven. Which is more than you can do on your own.” 

“Anyway, Jack,” said Grace, “thanks for coming over. And Romeo,” she gave him another look, “said he told you he wasn’t allowed over at your apartment anymore because of the neighborhood. I gotta apologize for that too. It’s been hard. I was tired when I said that.” She tried to laugh a little. “We’re, well, you and me going to be kind of neighbors soon, so it won’t be a problem. I just told Romeo today. This place,” she gestured to the room, “well, I can’t do it. Not with the crappy tips I’ve been getting.”

“Mommy said Santa isn’t coming for sure, since we’re moving,” said Romeo. “But he might, right, Jack?”

Jack ran the top of his wrist under his nose. “Even if he don’t, that’s okay, right, little man? We talked about that. Tough guys like us don’t need nothing, right?” Romeo nodded and made a fist to start punching at Jack’s hands, which he held up for Romeo.

Grace mouthed a “thank you” over Romeo’s head.

Jack cleared his throat a little. “Um, say, did you happen to see my wallet anywhere? I think I left it on the coffee table.”

“Yes! Yes, I found it.” Grace went to the coffee table and picked it up. “Here you go.”

Jack took it and tapped his thumb on it. It felt different. Thinner. He didn’t want to open it in front of her, but he could have sworn his overtime felt thicker than this. “Thanks,” he said, sticking it into his back pocket. “Well, I better get moving. It was nice to meet you. You know, like, meet you meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too, Jack. Romeo, say bye.”

“Bye, Jack.”

“See you later. Um, tomorrow can you get home on your own? I’m taking Kath out on a date.” Romeo looked at Grace.

“I have tomorrow night off, Jack. I’ll get him. You’re sweet to worry,” Grace said.

Jack ducked his head and raised his hand. “Okay, well, bye.” 

Jack stopped in the stairwell and looked in his wallet. Most of his money was gone.


	22. Nice Try

She had a gun, though. Was it worth it? Kath would help him out, right? But what if this lady shot him? Jack took a breath. It was his money. He’d worked so hard. Kath’s dinner tomorrow, and she’d even gone back to her house for a dress. No. He wasn’t rolling over, not this time.

Jack went back into the hallway of Romeo’s apartment, and knocked on the door. Grace answered, looking startled. “Did you forget something?”

Jack exhaled and took out his wallet. “Yeah. Um, my wallet. It had more money in it than it does now. Did any fall out or something?”

Grace’s eyes narrowed. “You think I took your money? Is that what you think of me? I might not be the best mother in the world. Maybe you think you have to be some kind of hero or dad or whatever, but you listen to me. I work my ass off to provide for him. I’m not a thief. I work. I work a lot. I don’t know what you’re trying to pull...”

“I ain’t trying to pull nothing. I just had more money in here, is all, and I’m just asking if you seen it. I’m taking my girlfriend out tomorrow for Christmas and I need that money.” Jack put his wallet back in his pocket. “You have a nice evening.”

Jack stalked down the hall, angry but glad he’d said something. She had some nerve. He’d figure something out. Maybe Charlie had some extra money he could borrow. The kid had picked up a lot of hours over his vacation. He’d figure it out, for sure.

Jack slogged through the morning of moving, still trying to figure it out. Charlie did have more money coming, but not yet. Well, Kath and him could still dress up. He could show her he really had made a reservation. That might be impressive. They could still enjoy the Christmas lights and go window shopping. It wouldn’t be so bad.

“Jack! I’ve been waiting!” Romeo hopped from one foot to the other. “I wrote to Santa and he said he’d come early so he’d have time to leave his presents, and he did!”

Jack stopped just inside the entryway. “What are you talking about? You know Santa ain’t coming this year. No big deal.” He looked at Romeo’s backpack on the floor. “What you got there?”

“Santa’s presents! He left them this morning! He brought you one too!” Romeo was nearly bursting. “You have to open it!” He reached in his backpack and drew out a clumsily wrapped package. He held it out to Jack, shaking with excitement.

Jack took it, giving Romeo a strange look. “Really?” Romeo nodded and hopped some more. Jack opened it to find a pair of work gloves. “Santa dropped these off at your apartment?”

“Do you like them? Do they fit? Put them on!” Romeo insisted. “Now you got gloves!”

“Yeah, nice,” said Jack. “What else did Santa leave?”

“He left a scarf for Mommy since she’s always so cold. And lots and lots of Hershey’s with almonds. Not just one. She got ten!” Romeo was ecstatic. “She was really surprised!”

“I bet,” said Jack. “What did he leave you?”

“Markers!” Romeo exclaimed. “My old ones were getting worn out, and Santa knew!”

“Did Santa leave any receipts?” Jack asked.

“What’s a receipt?” Romeo asked. 

Jack paused. “What’s your mom’s number? I think I should tell her that Santa really surprised me too.” Romeo rattled it off, grinning up at Jack.

“Hi, uh, Grace? This is Jack Kelly. Yeah, I know. I know. It’s okay. So, sounds like Santa came into some money, huh. Yeah. Did Santa leave any receipts lying around? Or in the trash? He did? Any chance... yeah, that’d be great. I’m sorry. Say, it’s okay if Santa didn’t leave a receipt for the markers. Guess you get to keep the chocolate. No, really. It’s fine. I’ll talk to him. Yeah, okay. I’ll send him home with the gloves right now. Okay, thanks. Bye.”

Jack turned to Romeo. “Hey, little man, I need you to take these gloves home to your mom, okay? Santa made a mistake. Your mom and I told him we didn’t need nothing, so he should take these back. You can keep the markers.”

Romeo’s face fell.

Jack knelt down in front of him. “Romeo, you did a nice thing, okay? But I need the money for other things. I need it to take Kath out tonight, and to buy my groceries. Next time, just ask, okay? Don’t go taking my money without asking.”

Tears started dripping down Romeo’s face. “I thought you’d like them.”

“I do. I like them a lot. But maybe I’ll just get a pair later. I’m fine, Rome. Come here,” Jack said, pulling Romeo close. “I’m fine. Just don’t do that again, okay?”

“Okay,” Romeo sniffled.

“Promise?”

“Promise.” 

“Good.”

“Jack?”

“Hm?”

“Are we still friends?” Romeo sniffled again.

Jack held him out at arm’s length. “Of course. But friends don’t sneak around, yeah?”

Romeo nodded as Jack stood up. “I won’t.” He looked down. “Jack?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll draw you a picture with my markers tonight.”

“It better be the best picture you ever drew.”

Romeo beamed up at him. “Just wait! It will be. You can put it on your fridge.” He threw his arms around Jack’s waist. “Merry Christmas early, Jack!”


	23. Kath’s Christmas Dinner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, but sweet, I hope. Let me know.

Jack tightened up his tie, smoothed out his hair in the mirror, and shouted, “You ready for this, Kath?”

“Sock it to me,” she called back. “We’re going to be late.” Jack opened the bedroom door. Spot whistled as Kath mock fainted onto the couch.

“Whaddaya think?” Jack asked nervously.

“You clean up good, Jack,” said Spot, “for a clown. Don’t you know no one your own size?”

Jack shot him a look as Kath came over and put her hands on his cheeks. “You look wonderful,” she said. She stood back and held his arms out. “Let’s redo the sleeves, though. Don’t roll them so tightly. See, like this.” She unrolled the sleeves and folded them up with bigger folds, just a couple of times. Jack let her do what she wanted as he gazed at her in her dress. It had been so long since he’d seen her dressed up like this.

She stood back. “Better. Okay, let’s go to the mysterious place, then.” She wrapped up in her coat and flung a scarf over her shoulders. “How do we look, Spot?” 

He gave a genuine grin of approval. “You guys look nice. I don’t know why you put up with this idiot, Kath, but you guys are a good looking couple.”

Kath smiled back at Spot and turned to gave Jack a kiss on the cheek. “Let’s go, my dashing prince.” 

“Right this way, miss.” Jack offered his arm and led her out the door. “Don’t wait up, Spotty.”

Jack led Kath down the street as quickly as he could without rushing her. It wasn’t that cold, but he’d worried that his sweatshirt would keep him out of the restaurant. Better to not take the chance. Kath smiled up at him as he gritted a smile back. Wow, she was beautiful.

“You sure you can’t tell me where we’re going?” she asked. “Really?”

“Really,” he replied. “You’ll like it, I promise. Just trust me.”

As they finally approached the restaurant, Kath slowed. “Here? Jack, really?” Her eyes widened.

“Only the best for my love,” he said. She looked at him, unbelieving. He winked at her and led her in. Warmth, at last.

“Sir?” the host asked.

“I got a reservation,” said Jack. Kath let out a small gasp.

“Your name?”

“Kelly.” Jack didn’t appreciate the once over the host gave him. He had noticed the boots. Shit. The host made eye contact with Jack, obviously doubtful. Jack stared at him, clenching his jaw and leaning forward ever so slightly. 

“Right this way, please.” Jack gave Kath a triumphant look, fading only slightly when he saw they were being led to the dark corner in the back.

Kath looked around once they were alone. “I can’t believe you did this. Are you sure?”

“You better believe it.” Jack looked back toward the front of the restaurant. “They’re so intimidated by you they had to hide you back here.” Kath smiled and laughed. Jack swelled with pride. “You gotta order anything you want, okay? Anything.”

Kath looked at the menu. “Oh, Jack.”

“Anything.” Jack leaned toward her. “Kath, I mean it.” He sat back and enjoyed watching her look over the menu. The candle on the table was flickering just the way he had imagined, too. He ran his fingers through his hair as the waiter approached.

“Are we ready to order?” the waiter asked, looking at Katherine.

“Yes, I think so,” she answered. “I’ll have the paella, please. With the side salad and water with lemon.”

“And for you, sir?” 

Jack jerked back to attention. “Ah, some water and the baked potato appetizer. This one right here,” he said, pointing at the menu.

Kath frowned as the waiter left. “A potato?”

“I already ate good today, Kath, remember? I had ten Hershey bars and a box of markers for lunch.” Jack grinned. “I’m good.”

“Jack, I am not going to sit here and eat my dinner while you have a lousy potato. That’s ridiculous.” She pursed her lips in frustration. Lord, she was cute.

“It’s my Christmas present, Kath. Just for tonight,” he took Kath’s hand as she started to shake her head, “just for tonight, let me give you everything you want. You want whatever it is you ordered, right? So I’m gonna give it to you. Let me give it to you, okay? Me and my potato, we want to be at the table with you and the penella or whatever.” He looked at her hopefully. “So Romeo did me in a little. I’ll live.” He rubbed her hand with his thumb. “I ain’t worried about it.”

Kath smiled. “Okay. If you’re good maybe I’ll let you have a bite of mine.”

Jack sat back and smiled back. “Nope. You’re taking it all back home in a doggy bag.”

“I don’t think they do doggy bags here.”

“They let a mangy mutt like me in, didn’t they?” Jack grinned. “Did you see the look that guy gave me?”

“I saw the look you gave him, more like. There for a moment I thought you were going to take him down,” said Kath.

“Pfft... I could blow that guy down. Maybe I shoulda, so they’d put us up front by the window, you know.”

“I like it back here,” Kath said. “More private.” She ran her foot up Jack’s leg.

He looked up, startled. “Hey, now. I ain’t had my potato yet.” He leaned over the table to kiss her. She leaned forward and met him for the kiss, then sat back and rubbed her foot on his leg again. Jack sat still, taking in the picture of her at this table, in the candlelight. He’d done it. He’d really, really done it. His nose started to feel funny, and his lip started to tremble. He blinked back some tears. Fuck, Kelly, get it together.

“What’s wrong, baby?” Kath looked concerned. “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing. You’re just so beautiful. And...” he felt an enormous lump in his throat. “And I get to do this for you. Be here, I mean. For dinner.” He wiped his face with the heel of his palm. “Fuck. Sorry. I just love buying you dinner here is all.”

Kath began to tear up. “Oh, Jack. I love having dinner with you here, too. It’s lovely. You worked so hard, baby.” Jack half laughed and choked, trying not to cry, not sure if he could stop if he wanted to. Kath reached out and touched his cheek. “Thank you.” Jack took her hand and held it on his face. He didn’t care if he cried. 


	24. It’s What You Wear from Ear to Ear...

Kath watched as Jack wiped the tears from his face and opened his eyes as he heard approaching footsteps. She met his eyes, wishing she could find another way to show how proud she was.

“That was fast. I hope you love it,” he said. He kissed her palm and turned to look, his smile faltering as the manager approached. Kath drew her hand back, also looking up at the manager.

“Sir, I’m afraid our customers are complaining about your attire. I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” The manager smiled politely and gestured toward the door. Kath almost laughed. He couldn’t be serious. Didn’t this only happen in movies?

“My attire,” said Jack. Kath blinked. Jack didn’t know what he meant. Should she tell him? 

“Your, ah, footwear,” said the manager. “It does not meet our dress code. And your clothing is too baggy for our standards. Our customers expect a certain atmosphere when they come here.”

Kath tried to reach for Jack’s hand, but he ignored her. “Your guy up front didn’t have a problem,” said Jack. “He took a good look, too.”

“He was trying to be kind, sir,” said the manager. “Unfortunately he did not take into consideration the needs of our usual customers.” The needs... Kath saw the manager try to smile reassuringly at the several tables who were watching them, and he nodded to the server, who scurried toward the entrance. What was that about, she wondered. Jack still ignored her hand.

“You think I can’t pay? I got the money for what we ordered.” Jack stared hard at the manager.

“No, sir, the concern is with regard to your attire. I’m gong to have to ask you to pay and leave, please.”

Kath tilted her head. He really was serious. Pay? For what? How would they get their food? “But...” she started, only to stop when Jack interrupted her.

“Just let us eat what we ordered. I ain’t causing no problems,” Jack said through his teeth.

“You need to leave, sir. Please pay and then leave. Miss, you are welcome to stay.” Stay? To eat? Without Jack? Kath wasn’t sure she understood what he was suggesting. The manager seemed to be waiting for Jack to get up. Jack didn’t move.

“Please, we’re not seated in a conspicuous area,” she finally interjected. “Please let us stay.” The manager ignored her as he turned toward toward the approaching cop. What was the cop doing here, she wondered. She looked at Jack, whose face suddenly looked ten years older.

“Officer, good to see you,” said the manager. “We have a refusal to leave and threatening behavior here.”

The officer sighed. “Let’s go, son.” He motioned for Jack to get up.

Kath watched as Jack still didn’t move. She still watched in disbelief as the officer gripped Jack’s arm and lifted him out of his seat. Jack leaned forward until his face just inches away from the manager’s. Please, please, don’t, Jack. Let’s just get out of here. She rose, taking her coat, not sure where Jack was being taken. Not another arrest, surely?

“None of that,” said the cop, pulling him away. “Let’s pay, hm?” Jack got out his wallet and put his money on the table, the cop still firmly holding onto his arm. The manager nodded and Kath followed as Jack was pushed outside. They stopped on the sidewalk by a second cop, Kath hurrying out behind them. A light drizzle had started to fall.

“Officer...” she started, pulling up her hood. Maybe he could listen to reason.

“You got ID?” The first officer cornered Jack. Kath stood and watched Jack transform from the teary, proud boy he had been minutes ago to... what? Jack had straightened, his face cautious and watching, his posture tense and controlled. He didn’t even seem to know she was there.

Jack took out his ID and handed it over.

“John Kelly?”

“Yes, sir.”

“You know you were causing problems in there just now?”

“Yes, sir.”

“That’s a nice place, you know. You been drinking?”

“No, sir.” 

“Drugs?”

“No, sir.”

“Causing trouble isn’t gonna impress your date here, is it.”

“No, sir.” Jack’s face remained expressionless as he looked straight ahead. What was the point of all this, Kath wondered. Why couldn’t they just go?

“If I run your name, am I gonna find a record?”

Jack was silent.

“Turn around and put your hands on the wall.”

Jack flickered an uneasy look at Kath. He closed his eyes and silently turned around, spreading his legs and putting his hands up on the wall. Kath was mute, staring in astonishment. He’d obviously been searched before. She should know that. Jack the inmate.

“Am I gonna find anything sharp in your pockets?”

“No, sir.” Kath saw Jack bite his lip as he was patted down, his taped cuffs yanked down as the officer felt them. Jack didn’t resist as he was pulled around to face front again. He stared over the officer’s shoulder, trying not to shiver as the drizzle started to drip off of his face.

“Listen here, I’m telling you to stay out of there, understand? You’re just gonna get a warning. But I don’t want to see you around here any more tonight, get it?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Now get lost. Miss,” said the cop, tucking his notepad back into his jacket pocket.

Jack shifted his shoulders and reached for Kath’s hand as they started down the sidewalk in silence. Kath replayed the scene over and over in her head. The search. Why was that sticking? He’d told her once, after she and Charlie had talked. Oh, no. He’d had to put his hands on the wall sometimes. For a whipping. She squeezed Jack’s hand and smiled at him. He stopped, breathing hard, his breath coming out in clouds. She came close and kissed him, Jack running his fingers through her hair, Kath kissing as hard as she could, violently. She rubbed her hands up and down his sides as he gasped for breath, kissing harder and harder. They gradually stopped and looked at each other, catching their breath. At last they kept walking, still not saying anything.

Jack stopped as they entered the building. “I’m sorry, Kath. I’m sorry I ruined it.” He rubbed her gloved hand with his thumb. 

Kath sighed. “You know you didn’t ruin anything. I still can’t believe they made you pay. We didn’t even get our food!” She saw a glint come into his eye. “What?”

“Let’s just tell everyone how great it was, okay? No cops, no nothing.”

Kath met his smile. “You got it. How good was your potato?”

“So good. The best potato.” Jack kissed Kath again. “I’m hungry, though. I ain’t had nothing today.”

“What’ve we got?”

“Not much. I can heat up some soup, maybe. Want to stay dressed up?” he asked. He looked so hopeful Kath had to laugh.

“You’re soaking wet!” How could he possibly look more handsome, she wondered.

“I don’t care.”

“Of course. You look wonderful. Please escort me into this fine establishment.” She held out her elbow and smiled as they walked up the stairs together.


	25. Jocular Ocularists

Jack rolled over to Kath. “Tell me I’ll be great,” he whispered.

“You’ll be great,” she mumbled.

“You think so? What if he forgot all about it?”

Kath opened her eyes a little. “You got a letter two days ago. He texted you earlier this evening. He hasn’t forgotten.”

“What if he got me mixed up with someone else?” Jack stroked her cheek, pulling a stray hair back behind her ear.

“Are there a lot of Jack Kellys who want to be ocularists? Who live at this address? And have your phone number? Go to sleep.”

Jack kissed her nose and her cheek. “What if I ain’t dressed right?”

“I don’t think he’ll call the cops, if that’s what you’re thinking. He will fire you immediately if you fall asleep on the job, so please, darling, shut up and go to sleep.” Kath kissed him on the chin and put her head back down. “You’ll be fine. He’ll understand.”

Jack slumped back and stared at the ceiling. He’d walked to the office to make sure he had his timing down for the morning. He’d wear what he had. Dr. Schmidt hadn’t said anything about clothes. Should he borrow Race’s again? Too late to ask him now. Not that he wanted to wear them again, but maybe it was closer to what Dr. Schmidt would want. Jack blew out his cheeks and exhaled.

“Jack, stop. I got school tomorrow.” Charlie said, startling Jack. “You’ll be fine. Lie still.”

Jack scowled at him in the dark. “I didn’t ask you. I’m nervous, okay? What if...”

“What if he loves you and you do great? Then you can buy us all dinner with your fat paycheck. Shut. Up.” Charlie adjusted his blanket.

”That’s gratitude for you. You been here three weeks and you’re already bossing me around,” Jack complained.

“For the love of all that is holy, SHUT UP,” shouted Spot from his bedroom. “I’m the boss. Don’t forget that, Kelly.”

Jack moaned and rolled over a little. “Fine...” he muttered.

Jack arrived at Dr. Schmidt’s office twenty minutes early. The door was locked, so he sat in the hall. He shouldn’t sit. He should stand. And pace? No. No pacing. Just stand. Hands in his pockets. Hands out of his pockets. Unzip his sweatshirt. Zip it. Zip it part way. 

“Jack? You’re here awfully early!” Conrad Schmidt boomed down the hall.

“Hi, Dr. Schmidt. I didn’t want to be late on my first day.” Jack ran his fingers through his hair. “How you doing.”

“Fine, fine. How are you? How’s the eye? Good? And you need to call me Conrad. There’s not enough time in the day for you to call me Dr. Schmidt every time.” Conrad shook Jack’s hand and turned to unlock the door.

“Yes, sir. Conrad,” Jack answered. He followed Conrad into the office. “Can ask you a question right now?”

“Of course. Fire away.” Conrad led Jack back to his own office and hung up his coat.

“Ah, am I dressed right? I just wanna know. I can fix it, a little, anyway.” Jack stood still as Conrad looked him over.

“You’re okay for now. We’re usually a little more formal than jeans and a tshirt, but you’ll get there. You’ll get paid enough to buy a couple of shirts, I promise.” Conrad went to his desk and fired up his laptop.

“What about my shoes? What do you want? I mean, like you say, I don’t have a lot of money right now, but you know, when I do, um, what do you want?” Glory. He’d said “don’t have.” He swore he’d go the whole day without saying “ain’t.” Good, Kelly.

Conrad looked at Jack’s boots. “I don’t care, Jack. Whatever’s comfortable. Those look like they’re about to give out any minute, but maybe just take a look around once you have the money.”

“You aren’t going to fire me for how I’m dressed now, then?” Jack asked, trying to sound funny. Aren’t. That sounded funny enough.

“No. Jack, we’re here to make eyes, you know that, right? You come here and do that, and we’ll worry about the fashion runway later, okay? Were you fired before for your clothes? Is that why you’re so worried?”

“Something like that.” Jack rubbed the back of his neck.

Conrad came back around to the front of his desk. “Oh. That’s too bad. Well, let’s get your paperwork under way and get started, what do you say?” He went back out towards the main part of the office.

Jack smiled. “Yeah, sounds good.”

At the end of the day, Jack’s head hurt. He felt so stupid. How could he ever learn all of this. What had ever possessed him to say yes to this apprenticeship? Anatomy. Materials. Color. Tools. He finished cleaning up as Conrad had asked him to, and stood by the counter, unsure of what to do next. The office would be closing in about three minutes. He shouldn’t just be standing around. He pulled out his anatomy book that Conrad told him to study and opened it up.

“Jack, we’re closing! Wrap that up and get your things together. What do you say I take you out to dinner to celebrate your first day?” Conrad slapped him on the shoulder as he walked by to get his coat.

Jack froze. He meant to ask Conrad about his bill but hadn’t found the right time. They were so busy. Did Conrad even deal with bills? He wasn’t sure. “Uh, I got work, Conrad. Sorry.”

“Work? We’re done here. You can study tomorrow.” Conrad zipped up his coat.

“I mean my other job. My other jobs. I have to be at the Y in an hour. And weekends I'm gonna work for the moving company.”

“I don't think you understand this apprenticeship, Jack. I'll need your full attention here. You'll be working here forty hours a week, and I can't have you coming in tired."

Jack didn't like Conrad's frustrated look. "I gotta work extra. To pay off your bill? And my friend Charlie, he needs some new pants. His are all worn out, and I need to help him.”

Conrad frowned. “What do you mean, my bill?”

“The bill for forty million dollars from my appointments last year. I finally got some extra hours so maybe I can get some of it paid, and I got my schedule changed so I can work when I’m not here. I won’t get it all by the due date, though. Some of it will be late. But I’m on it, I swear.” Would he fire him for having a late bill? Well, better to know now than later.

“We’ll talk about this more tomorrow, Jack. Are you working tomorrow night?”

Jack nodded. “Every night except Saturday and Sunday when I do moving.”

“Okay. Saturday night I’m taking you out for dinner. Maybe we can get this bill straightened out in the meantime.”

“Yes, sir. Conrad. That would be great. Thank you.” Jack put his sweatshirt on and picked up his backpack. “See you tomorrow?”

“You’re not fired yet, Jack. Yes, see you tomorrow.”


	26. Two Worlds

“Jack, can I interrupt your lunch for a few minutes?” Conrad pulled out a chair and slapped Jack’s bill on the break room table.

Interrupt? Jack had no idea what to do for an hour for lunch. He looked up from his anatomy book. “Yeah, sure. You bet, I mean.”

“Turns out I’m in trouble already for cutting patients’ bills, so I can’t do that for you. And the rules don’t let me lend money to an apprentice or lend money to someone with the intent of lending it to you.” Conrad fingered the bill, folding the corner down and bending it back.

Fuck. Did Conrad think Jack was gonna ask him for a loan? “I didn’t think you’d be lending me money, Conrad. So, what happens if I make payments? Didn’t you say I could do that? What happens if I can’t make one?” 

Conrad looked seriously at Jack. “You didn’t say this was your second notice, Jack.”

“My what?”

“Your second notice.” Conrad took the bill out of the envelope. “Right here.”

“What does that mean?” There was a first?

“It means that the health systems billing folks think you’ve been ignoring them. If you don’t pay after a second notice, they send it to collections.”

“What the f... what does that mean? Ignoring them? I opened it the day I got it! I called here a long time ago but you guys were closed!” Jack glared at Conrad. “How am I supposed to do anything if you’re closed?”

“One thing at a time, Jack. You called here? Not the number on the bill?”

“Yeah. I had your card in my wallet, so I called it.” Jack threw up his hands. Who else would he call? 

“We were closed, but billing is closed only on Christmas. You probably should have called the number on the bill, not mine.” Fuck. Two numbers? 

Conrad drew in a breath and continued. “And collections means that your bill gets sent to people who collect your money any way they can.” 

“Like breaking my arm.” Jack looked angrily at Conrad. “I’m gonna get another broken arm? Or leg? What the fuck, Conrad? Sorry. I’m sorry. But really?”

“They’re not allowed to do that, Jack. But it will ruin your credit for a long time, years and years, and you really don’t want that. The due date isn’t until next week, so maybe there are other options? How about a credit card?” Jack shook his head. “A loan from your bank?”

“I ai.. I don’t use a bank.”

Conrad’s eyebrows shot up. “Ok. How about friends?”

Jack snorted. He looked at Conrad’s face and saw he was at a loss. “Yeah, friends. I can get it together. Don’t worry about it.” He closed his book. “My lunch hour is over, isn’t it?”

Conrad looked at the clock. “Sure is. Time for you to watch me work with our next patient. This guy is a good one. Thirty-two years old, and he was actually running with scissors...” Conrad continued the story as Jack followed him down the hall. Friends. Fuck.

Jack left the Y and was grateful Kath was back in her dorm at school. Colder and lonelier, but not as many questions. Jack had helped her pack, surprised when the guys had all stuck around to say goodbye like she was going on a trip around the world. She’d been a pretty good sport, he had to admit, living with those knuckleheads. And him. She’d cried only the one time on Christmas Day, when she realized that she really wasn’t going to be home with her father. Jack had to admire how Race, Spot, and Charlie had put years of experience in distractions to good use while Jack was working that day. Piggyback jousting had been a big hit. He laughed, remembering her making Race charge Jack as he came in the door. He definitely hadn’t been expecting that.

He dragged up the stairs again. He didn’t pound this time, and much to his surprise Oscar answered the door himself.

“You rich now, thanks to me?” asked Jack. 

Oscar jerked his head for Jack to follow him inside. “Richer than I was. My car’s nicer for sure. You got another idea now?”

“Nah. Listen, I need cash but I don’t need no broken arm.” Jack took out his bill. “I need cash now for this.”

Oscar looked at the bill and whistled. “Yeah?”

“I just want to pay you back with money I make moving and shit. I’ll pay you regular. If something comes up I don’t want nobody beating the shit outta me.” Jack cracked his neck and kept his voice steady.

Oscar smiled. “I don’t think so, Jacky. This kind of money, you’re gonna have to do better. Tell you what, you pay me cash from your shitty jobs for half of this. The other half is gonna come in by next week.”

Jack laughed. “How am I gonna do that, Oscar? If I had that kind of money I wouldn’t even be here.”

Oscar didn’t laugh. “You don’t have it? You move rich folks’ shit, yeah? You got sticky fingers. They ain’t gonna miss their extra necklace, right? You just get that stuff to me for the other half.”

Jack shook his head. “That’s a good job. I ain’t risking that. You know I’ll make the payments for all of it. It’ll just take a little time.”

“No deal, then. Beat it.” 

Jack stopped for a moment. “Two weeks. If we do it your way, and let’s say I get stuff to you but it ain’t quite enough, then no one comes after me. We talk about it. I get a chance to make it up.”

Oscar came in close. “You’re getting soft, Kelly. But you helped me find a new line of revenue, this is true. I owe you for that. Okay. But one week, half is due in cash or shit. The rest you get to me in cash, payments every two weeks. You get slow, we talk.”

Jack sucked in his breath. One week. Okay. He shook Oscar’s hand. “Deal.”


	27. Opportunity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PG-13 sex

Jack jumped into Kath’s car and leaned over for a kiss. “Finally! I miss you so much, baby. Where are we going?”

Kath put the car into drive and smiled mysteriously. “Someplace good. You’ll like it. How was work today?”

“Conrad’s was good. He had me help him with inventory so I could start learning what everything is called and where it’s kept. He’s really nice, Kath. I think I might be able to do this.” Kath reached over and squeezed his hand. “The Y was good. I saw Romeo for a minute. He hates his new apartment. Shocker, right? It’s not too far from me, actually. It probably is a shitty place.”

Kath was quiet for a moment. “I wish we could do more.”

“Yeah, I know.” Jack leaned his head back. “It don’t always work out that way, though.” He looked out the window. “Are we going...?”

Kath nodded smugly. “Yup. They’re gone for the weekend. We’ll have it all to ourselves.”

“Oh ho,” Jack laughed, “you are the sneaky one, Miss Pulitzer.” His mind went straight into the gutter, but then came to a screeching halt. Maybe.

Kath unlocked the back door and held Jack’s hand as she led him inside to the kitchen. “Hungry?” she asked.

“Only for you, baby,” he growled.

“Ew. Please. You sound like a pervert. Try again.”

“You got anything good? I’m starving,” he said in his normal voice.

“Of course you are.” Kath opened the fridge and surveyed the contents. Five minutes later Jack was devouring a ham sandwich and two oranges. Kath leaned against the counter, watching him shove the sandwich in his mouth. “No one’s going to take it away, you know,” she said jokingly. Whoops. Not a joke. “Sorry.”

Jack broke the peeled orange in half. “Want some?” He offered her a half.

“I ate before I picked you up,” she answered. Jack popped the orange pieces in his mouth and swallowed them nearly whole. “Well, I don’t wanna keep you waiting,” he said, grinning. “What’s the plan?”

She smiled back and slowly went over to the light switch. She licked her lips exaggeratedly as she shut the light off and led Jack through the dark house to her bedroom.

“How about making love in a real bed?” she whispered in his ear as they entered her room. She laughed as Jack stood still and turned to her in mock amazement.

Kath laughed again as Jack picked her up and flung her on the bed, undressing her gently before finally getting his own clothes off. He bent over her, kissing her stomach and then her breasts, and she reveled in his attention. She guided his hips and they made love, finally in quiet and privacy.

Jack awoke later that night, listening to the seconds tick on the clock out in the hall. He turned toward Kath, watching her sleep. He reached out and stroked her breasts, curling over her and holding her small hand in his big one, wanting to shield her like this every night of his life. He kissed the back of her neck. How long had it been since he’d slept in a real bed, he wondered. Nearly a year? Not that he was complaining. But this was nice. Really, really nice. He let go of Kath’s hand and rolled away onto his back, still watching to see if she was in a deep sleep. He pulled the covers back up to cover her back and shoulders, and she seemed to relax even more. He crept out of the bed and picked up his jeans, going out into the hall to put them on. Fuck if they didn’t leave the heat on all night. Even with no shirt or socks he was warm. 

Pulitzer’s room was a little ways down the hall. Jack opened the door slowly. He’s not in there, you idiot. Move faster. Jack slipped into the room and looked for Lillian’s things. It was obvious. She left her jewelry draped all over the dresser in the corner, the seat in front of it piled with clothes. As messy as it was this would be simple, although a little light would be helpful. Not worth the risk, though. He picked up a jewelry case and opened it. Perfect. He tilted it toward the light coming from the window, and selected the matching earrings and necklace. He couldn’t be sure it would match half of the money he owed Oscar, but it’d be close, he guessed. He put the box back down in the right spot and put the jewelry in his pockets. He walked back to Kath’s room as fast as he could, holding his hands over his pockets in case the jewelry made any noise.

“Where did you go, baby?”

Jack nearly wet himself. “Just had to go to the bathroom. I went down the hall so the light wouldn’t bother you.”

“Come cuddle me.” Jack didn’t need to be asked twice. He took off his jeans and wrapped himself around her again until morning.

Jack heaved the box into the back of the truck and headed back inside for more. It was weird not doing it every day anymore. It was nice, but weird. The guys gave him a hard time about his cushy office job. He just nodded and took it. They were right. The earrings dug into his leg as he propped another box up and grabbed the sides. His third trip in he was ordered to the bedroom, filled with more boxes. Jack dropped the furniture blankets on the floor and looked around. He peeked in a box. Jewelry boxes, silver hand mirrors wrapped in silk scarves. He touched them gently, moving them around just a bit.

“Don’t do it, Jack,” said Kloppman. Jack slammed the box shut and whirled around. Fuck. He’d taken too long. “Don’t. You’ve been real good about that kind of thing. Don’t wreck it now unless you wanna go to jail for really taking something this time. You wanna prove that awful woman right?”

Jack stayed bent over so Kloppman wouldn’t see his pockets, praying Kloppman would leave. Kloppman continued to stand there. “No, sir,” Jack finally answered. “I’ll just get the furniture, then.” He leaned over for a blanket and threw it over a chair, lifting it in front of him and leaving the room.

Jack knocked on Oscar’s door. A flunkey opened it. “Get Oscar,” said Jack. “I got something for him.” He checked his phone for the time. He couldn’t stay long. Conrad would be coming for him here in a little while.

Oscar came out of his bedroom and gave Jack a congratulatory smile. “Nice, Jacky. That was fast. You musta done some good houses today.”

Jack took the earrings and necklace of out his pockets. “This half?”

Oscar took them and examined them, turning them in the light. “These are real good, Jack, yeah. Where’d you get them?”

“It don’t matter. Is it half?” Jack demanded. Come on, come on.

“Yeah, it’s half. Nice work. You sure you don’t wanna work for me full time? You got real light fingers.” 

Jack shook his head. “Second half, I pay you back every two weeks. And nobody comes after me.”

“Yeah, yeah. You don’t come, though, and we might have to renegotiate, if you know what I mean.” Oscar kept a steady gaze on Jack.

Jack shrugged. “I’ll be here. You have a nice night, Oscar.” 


	28. Jack and Conrad Have Dinner

Charlie tilted his head. “I can’t tape them like Race did. I don’t know how he did it. You’re gonna look bad either way, Jack.” He reached into Mayer’s Friday bag and got a granola bar. “You want one?”

“Don’t go sharing that bag, Charlie,” said Jack. “That’s yours to get you to Monday. You really think it looks that bad?” Jack looked down at the cuffs of Race’s pants. They did look like shit. He bent down and folded up the cuffs on the outside. “How about now? It’s either these or my work jeans.”

“Where’s he taking you?”

“I don’t know. But he’s a fucking doctor, so I don’t want to screw it up again.” Jack started buttoning up Race’s shirt.

Charlie munched on his bar. ”You shoulda asked.”

“I already sounded like a girl asking him what I should wear to work. I didn’t want him to think I thought this was like a real date.” He tucked in the shirt and started folding up the sleeves like Kath had.

“Girls have more sense than you. They want to know how to dress so they don’t act like you’re acting now. Are you seriously going to wear those pants like that?” Charlie pursed his lips and winced.

“My jeans are dirty. I got basement duty at the last job and my other ones got ripped last weekend. Don’t you have homework or something? You’re not helping. Tie or no tie?”

Charlie rolled his eyes. “Do you know how to tie it?”

“No.”

“Then no tie, stupid.”

Jack felt his phone vibrate and checked the text. “Fuck. He’s here.” He pushed his feet into his boots and faced Charlie. “Really, am I good?”

“You look like shit.”

”Since when do you channel Albert? I thought you were the nice one,” said Jack.

“I’m reading the text from Albert. I sent him a pic of you and that’s what he said.”

Conrad waited for Jack, a little relieved to see him come barreling out the door. The neighborhood creeped him out. What was that boy wearing, he wondered. Don’t stare, Conrad. Jack had proven to be a quick learner, remember that. Jack yanked open the door and slammed himself into the seat.

“Thanks, Conrad. Sorry I was slow.” He gave Conrad a broad grin and sat back. 

“I thought we’d go to this burger place I know. That sound okay? They have a lot of good stuff there.” Conrad checked for traffic and pulled out. 

“Hey, you’re paying, right? You go where you want,” said Jack. “But burgers sound great.” Conrad smiled to himself. They drive in silence for several minutes.

“How was moving today?” Conrad asked. 

“Good,” said Jack. “A lady gave us some apples, which was awesome. Sometimes you get lucky and people give you sandwiches or Snickers, you know? Then I got basement duty at the last job. I tried to clean up, but I dunno.” He examined his hands.

“Any chance you’ll quit there once you get this bill straightened out?” Conrad asked hopefully. “I’m a little worried that you’ll hurt your hands.”

Jack laughed a little. “Probably not. I gotta save up for my own place pretty soon. One of my friends is gonna be eighteen this spring and we told him he could crash with us. But there...isn’t any more room in the apartment, so I gotta go so he can have my mattress. Spot, the guy who let me stay with him, said you gotta have a cr... a lot of money to get a place. Security deposit and stuff. And Charlie needs help getting some clothes that aren’t all wore out.” 

“Ah. Well, that’s true about the deposit. Here we are.” Conrad pulled to the curb, got out, and handed his keys to a valet. Standing on the sidewalk, he looked at Jack to see what he thought, and then took a second look. Jack had gone positively white, staring at the restaurant entrance and peering inside. “Everything okay, Jack? I promise you’ll like something here.” The poor kid seemed scared to death.

“Conrad,” Jack croaked. “Conrad, I think I should just go home. Thank you. Thank you so much. You’re really nice. But I... I ain’t dressed...” He gestured down to his pants.

Conrad took a closer look at the folded cuffs, the boots. Jack’s shirt was obviously too big. “Jack, you’re fine. You look good.”

Jack gave Conrad a pained look. “I’m gonna get us thrown out. The cops...” This boy was on the verge of a panic attack.

Conrad made eye contact. “Jack, this is a good restaurant, yes. But it’s not the kind of place that will throw you out.” What on earth had happened to him, Conrad wondered. “Come on in. We’ll order some burgers, okay?” He took Jack by the shoulder and steered him inside. Jack looked around suspiciously, Conrad noticed, perhaps waiting for someone to say something.

“So, Jack, let’s get to know each other a little. I feel I know you as a patient and as an applicant, and I’ve seen you work very hard this week. What do you think so far?” Conrad handed Jack a menu, hoping it would distract him.

“It’s good,” said Jack. He sucked in his breath as he read the menu. Conrad hoped he’d find something quickly to put him at ease. “I like everything. It’s a lot.”

“You’ll get the hang of it. You’ve made a lot of progress already. And I’m impressed that you study over lunch.” Conrad opened his menu to Jack. “I like this one. Want to try it?” Jack shrugged and nodded. He was saying less and less. Conrad ordered, wondering what he had done wrong. Other apprentices had been happy, thrilled to go to a good restaurant, thrilled to chat.

Jack bounced his leg, his hands clenched between his legs. Conrad couldn’t make eye contact.

“So, Jack,” he said again, loudly enough for Jack to look over suddenly. “You draw very well. I’ve seen you copying the anatomy drawing from the book I gave you. When did you discover you liked art?”

Jack stared at him for a long moment. “I don’t remember. I’m sorry. A while ago, I guess.”

Conrad sighed. “Tell me about your family. Any brothers or sisters?”

Jack stared again. “Not really. My folks...aren’t around.” He looked away again. Conrad could see the sweat starting to soak his hairline, his jaw grinding his teeth. The leg hadn’t stopped bouncing.

“What would you like to tell me about yourself, Jack?” Conrad asked quietly. Jack looked at him cautiously. “I just want to know who I’m working with.”

Jack watched Conrad for what seemed like an eternity. Conrad willed himself to shut up and wait. “My mom shot and killed my dad when I was seven.” He looked away again. 

“I see. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I asked about your family. That was insensitive of me.” Jack looked back at him out of the corner of his eye. Conrad waited some more. The burgers arrived as they sat in silence, Conrad watching Jack devour his burger in less than a minute. Conrad signaled the server to bring another.

“You didn’t know. What are the chances, right?” Jack ate the fries and gulped his soda.

“Pretty slim. Even so, I’m sorry. Were you able to stay with relatives, then?” Conrad had never felt so awkward.

Jack shook his head. “Foster care.” Oh.

Now what should he ask, Conrad wondered. “I hope some of them provided you with happy memories.”

Jack choked on his drink, splattering some of it on his plate and down his shirt. “Crap. Yeah. You bet. Listen, ain’t there nothing else you wanna talk about?” 

“Anything,” said Conrad honestly. “I’d rather talk about anything else.” And Jack laughed. It was a loud laugh with a wide smile. Conrad found himself laughing too.

“Okay. Okay, here’s a happy memory,” Jack said, putting his hands up in surrender. “Irma, this lady I stayed with, it was just the two of us, was kinda older but really nice, you know? She made me a chocolate birthday cake with chocolate frosting with my name on it in cursive. It took her all afternoon. She didn’t buy it at a store or nothing. When I got home from school we lit the candles and I blew them out. She wanted me to cut it but I didn’t want to. It was too pretty. So she let me just look at it. And she held my hand and looked at it with me. She didn’t go clean up the kitchen or nothing.” Jack looked at Conrad and shrugged. “That’s it.”

Conrad opened his mouth to reply, but Jack’s second burger came and he looked at Conrad in astonishment.

“You want it?” said Conrad. “Go ahead.” Jack dove into the second burger while Conrad finished up his fries and said a silent prayer of thanks to Irma. Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. He’d have to remember that.


	29. Romeo

Jack heaved his full weight on the set of bleachers that had to be set up for the peewee basketball game. Why not just make them out of stone, he wondered. Or make the parents stand. Maybe they wouldn’t leave so much litter for him to pick up afterwards. He shoved them again, closer into place.

“Hey, Jack,” said a familiar voice.

Jack turned around with a smile. “Hey, Rome, what’s up.” He shoved the bleachers again and headed for the next set.

“Nothing.” Romeo leaned against the wall. “You’re not here as much anymore.”

Jack glanced over at Romeo as he pulled on the bleachers. “I got a new job. I’m just here at night for a little. Why?”

“You haven’t come over since I made you mad.” Romeo scuffed his shoe. “You said we were friends but you haven’t been acting like one. You used to come over.”

Jack stopped, catching his breath. “Rome, I got three jobs going, little man. I’m sorry. And I ain’t mad.” He sat down on the set he was moving. “Come ‘ere.” Romeo slid over to him, eyes on the floor. His coat was getting too small, Jack saw. His hair was greasy. And since when did he just slide around like this? Why was he even wearing his coat? “What’s up?”

“Can you... can you take me home tonight? I don’t like walking home by myself to the new apartment.” Romeo still didn’t look up. “It’s not that far from you. You said, remember?”

“Yeah, sure. No problem. Meet me at the door when it’s time to go, okay?” Jack got up again. “You want a ride?” Romeo’s face lit up and he jumped on the bleacher set. Jack shoved it into place as Romeo tried to stay standing, laughing as Jack tried to knock him off balance.

Jack waited as Romeo unlocked his door and flipped on the light. He followed Romeo for one step and stopped. Fuck. Romeo kept his coat on and turned to Jack. He didn’t say anything, and neither did Jack.

Jack drew in a breath. “Okay, Rome. I get it. I’m gonna help, okay? You hungry? What’re you eating?”

Romeo pointed at the counter, covered with empty chip bags and scraped out peanut butter jars. “They’re all gone. Mommy got some cans but I can’t get them open.” He showed Jack a stack of dented cans.

“You got a can opener?” Jack asked, going to the drawers and looking. Nothing. “Okay, you might not be quite big enough for this trick, but I’ll open a bunch for you with a spoon. You got a spoon?” Romeo got a dirty spoon out of the sink. Jack washed it off and showed Romeo how to open a can. He opened several and put them in the fridge before washing off a fork and handing Romeo a can of peaches. “Don’t eat all the cans at once, okay? I’ll get you a can opener soon. Be real careful you don’t cut yourself.” Romeo nodded, peach juice dripping down his chin onto his coat.

Jack took a breath. “You get lunch at school? For free?” Romeo nodded as he ate. “Good.” Jack grabbed a plastic bag and filled it with trash, and then did it again and again, stacking the bags by the door. 

“You know how to get food on your own?” Jack asked, once Romeo was done.

Romeo shook his head. “I don’t have any money.”

“That’s what I mean,” said Jack. “You gotta know how to do that. So, like, you’re at lunch and somebody don’t eat their apple or their chicken or something, you get it in a napkin and put it in your jacket pocket. Then you got dinner. Or maybe you stop by a fast food place when it’s real busy and check out what people leave behind on the tables, right? You just take it and get outta there. If you’re real hungry you can just ask folks if they’re gonna eat their fries or something, and they’ll probably let you have some. But you can’t do that a lot or they’ll start waiting for you with the cops, and you don’t want that.” Jack had Romeo’s full attention. “You see any cops hanging around then you don’t go in, yeah? Maybe you can go to tutoring again with Mr. Jacobs. He’s got food too.”

Jack looked around the apartment. “When is your mom getting home?” he asked.

Romeo shrugged. “Late. She doesn’t always come home anymore.”

That’s what Jack thought. “You want me to stay for a while?” Romeo gave him a hopeful look. “Okay. You text her and tell her I’m here, right? I don’t wanna get shot. And if I stay, you gotta do what I say. We’re gonna be busy.” Romeo finally smiled as he took out his phone.

Jack flopped onto a kitchen chair. The booze would be somewhere, hidden. He’d show Romeo how to take out the garbage in the morning, make him get a shower tonight. Would his mom let Romeo stay with Jack overnight? Where would he even put Romeo? Maybe Jack should stay here? He had to get a change of clothes in the morning, though. He could do that. What would Grace say? Jack couldn’t be here all the time. Romeo would have to learn. 

“Romeo! Tell me how you get a shower.” Jack stood up. “You got seven minutes. I don’t wanna see nothing, just tell me what you’re doing.”

Romeo giggled and dashed into the bathroom. Jack laughed as Romeo told him every step, shouting through the door. He got it mostly right, and Jack showed him how to fold his towel on the rod so it would dry faster.

“Romeo! Tell me how you wash the dishes.” It was getting late. Romeo really should be in bed, Jack thought. He’d be in bed with mice and cockroaches at this rate, so dishes it was. No reason to take a shower, really, in the end, but at least there were some clean plates and a few forks and spoons done.

“Romeo! Go to bed!” Jack shouted, grinning. 

“No! Pushups!” Romeo put his hands on his little hips and jutted out his chin at Jack. “I can do a bunch!”

“Yeah, right,” said Jack. “You were pretty wimpy last time.” Romeo got down on the floor and waited, looking up at Jack. “Okay, then, let’s go, kid.” Jack got down and got ready.

“You gotta do it one-handed!” Romeo insisted. “No fair.” Jack rolled his eyes exaggeratedly and got on one hand. “Go!”

Jack made sure Romeo won.

“I won!” Romeo crowed. “I won! I won! Now you do them with me on you!” He jumped on Jack’s back.

Jack pretended to groan and moan. “I do eleven or more, then you go to bed.”

“If you don’t then you have to do more fighting lessons with me!” Romeo shouted. Jack made it to ten.

Jack sat on the couch, staying awake with the lights on, listening to Romeo settle into sleep at last. He didn’t trust Grace to remember that Romeo had told her he was there. They still had electric and she still had the heat on a little. She’d remembered to get food. Nobody was beating on Romeo, but it would be good if Romeo could throw a better punch than he did. Nothing here that a can opener couldn’t fix for the most part, and a little advice. Romeo would be okay.


	30. Jack Learns to Budget

Jack ripped open his check as soon as he found a seat in the break room. He looked at the check and then glanced around. There had to be a mistake. He knew how much he’d be making, but it was different seeing it in print. All this for noodling around Conrad’s office and for studying? His brain hurt at the end of every day, it seemed like, but it wasn’t like he’d been breaking rocks. He looked again at the check. Should he make sure, with Conrad? Or would he just look dumber than he already was? No, this was right. Fucking hell. He took out his phone and called in sick to the Y.

Charlie grinned at him as they stood still for a moment, just looking. “What are we waiting for? Let’s get going!”

Jack held out his arm in an “after you” and followed Charlie into the men’s clothing section. “Get two pairs, Charlie, and another sweatshirt. You need anything else?”

“Socks,” Charlie called over a rack of clothes.

“Okay. I’ll go get some,” said Jack, “you pick out the pants and stuff.” Jack practically ran to the sock aisle and grabbed a packet of socks. What the hell, he’d get some too. He joined Charlie by the pants and then picked out some jeans and two button down shirts that would look good at Conrad’s office. Maybe Spot would let him hang them in his closet. Whatever. It didn’t matter. 

Charlie held up a sweatshirt. “You like this?”

Jack looked it over. “It’s new, ain’t it? What’s not to like?” Jack took the clothes from Charlie. “Now, shoes.”

“Are you serious?” Charlie grinned again.

“What, you gonna miss what you got on right now?”

“Hell, no,” said Charlie.

“Then let’s go!” Jack strode over to the shoes. Better stick with boots, Kelly. They gotta last. You ain’t that rich yet. He felt himself swell up with pride as Charlie looked over the shoes. “Hey, nothing too fancy, okay?” Charlie looked up and nodded. Jack took everything over to where Charlie was and watched him try on a few pairs. Jack looked down at his old boots. They were pretty much all he had had of his own the day he got out of juvie for the last time.

_He’d tried to keep his chin up and his face neutral when he arrived at the apartment. He’d been glad to see Charlie again. Charlie had come to the door as they came in, his eyes getting big as he saw Jack’s face. Jack had given him a warning look to shut it, and luckily Charlie was smart. Albert not so much once they were alone in their bedroom._

_“You fucked up good in there, didn’t you,” Albert had said._

_“Fuck you,” said Jack._

_Charlie shook his head. “Knock it off, Albert. What’d they do with your jeans, Jack?” he asked._

_“They couldn’t keep them. Too much blood.” Jack leaned back on his elbows on the lower bunk. “State issued is real sexy, ain’t it.” He stuck out his legs for Charlie to see his pants._

_“What’d you do, kill someone?” said Albert. “You’re full of shit.”_

_Jack pushed himself off the bed and grabbed Albert. “Shut your mouth or you’ll look worse than me, asshole, I don’t care what this foster dad does to me. And you touch Charlie and I will kill you. You don’t touch him, understand?” He shoved Albert away from him. He smoothed the white tshirt they’d given him that morning, preferring not to remember being hauled off without one the night he went off on that guy. Fucking blood everywhere. He wanted a drink. He’d have to ask Charlie what these folks had._

_“Hey, Jack,” said Charlie quietly, “it ain’t like that here. You don’t wanna get sent back, do you? No one’s gonna hit you here, I swear.” Jack stopped and looked at Charlie. “I swear,” Charlie repeated._

“Jack. Jack!” Jack looked up, startled, at Charlie. “How about these?” Charlie held up a pair of sneakers.

“Yeah, those are good. They feel good?” Jack asked. Charlie nodded, smiling. They marched up to the register, Charlie watching in awe as Jack took out his roll of bills and paid for it all.

“Guess what now.” Jack swung the giant bag as they went down the street.

“You bought a house for us.”

“Next time. Guess again.”

“You got me a car.”

“Okay, no. I ordered pizza, smartass. I got five pizzas and wings and breadsticks and soda waiting for all of us for dinner.” Jack laughed as Charlie made a show of nearly collapsing with shock. “Kath’s meeting us there with her car to help carry all this shit. And guess what else.”

“You got me a new leg.”

Jack slowed. “I wish. I’d do it, Charlie. But I did give Spot money so we can turn up the heat again like when Kath was there.”

“That’s good. I liked that.” Charlie nodded appreciatively. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. So we’re gonna do that again. But just during the day, okay?” Jack had winced when Spot told him it would help some, but not as much as he’d hoped. Well, better than nothing.

“Okay.”

Done with Saturday moving, Jack swung by Romeo’s to give him his can openers. One electric, one manual, just in case. He taught Romeo how to use them and watched him open a few cans. Texting Romeo at night had helped, it looked like. The trash was out, he seemed clean. Well, cleaner. The coat fit.

Jack sauntered over to Oscar’s, fingering the bills in his pocket. He pounded on the door. Kath would be waiting soon. Oscar opened the door, phone to his ear, and motioned for Jack to come in. Jack came in and stood, waiting for Oscar to finish, as Oscar shut the door behind him. The tv was on to some reality show, Oscar’s lackeys drinking beer and watching intently.

“Jacky, how you been,” Oscar said loudly once he was done, coming over to where Jack was standing. “You got money for me.” 

“Yeah, here,” said Jack. He held out some bills. “See you in two weeks?”

“Hey, hey, not so fast. What’ve we got here, lemme see.” Oscar flipped through the bills. “That’s it? This ain’t enough, Jacky. You’re making more than this, I know that. You ain’t never gonna pay me back with little shit payments like this. Come on, I know you got it, with that fancy doctor job.”

Jack started to sweat. “I’ll get you more next time, Oscar. I had to get some stuff with this first check.”

Oscar looked him over. “You didn’t need to get new boots, Jack. You owe me money first. This ain’t good. You ain’t got your priorities straight.” He came in close to Jack. “I need more. Now.”

Jack handed him his last twenty. “That’s all I got, Oscar. I blew the rest. We never exactly said...” He backed up toward the door.

“What are you, a fucking lawyer too? That ain’t good enough.” Oscar waved the twenty in Jack’s face and snapped his fingers at his lackeys. Jack hadn’t even seen the one sitting behind him near the door. Two guys grabbed him by the shoulders and pinned his arms back.

“We said if I was short I’d get another chance. We said no one would come after me,” Jack said, struggling to get away. “No broke bones.”

“You said that, Jacky. I said if you come up short we’d renegotiate. And here we are. Renegotiating.” Oscar smiled at Jack straining forward, enjoying Jack’s panic. He drove a fist into Jack’s stomach. Jack lurched forward, gasping, only to feel his head snap back as Oscar landed an uppercut on his jaw.

“Please...” Jack started, wheezing. “Not my eye. Leave my eye. Please.” 

“Take him outside. I don’t need blood on my carpet,” said Oscar. “And leave the eye alone.” Jack yanked and pulled as he was dragged behind Oscar’s apartment building, but couldn’t get free.

The hits came hard and fast. They kept his arms back for a good while, the biggest lackey landing blow after blow to his ribs, his gut, his jaw. Jack grunted, trying to breathe, feeling blood drip down his chin. He lost track of time, still trying to pull away, almost relieved when they threw him down on the ground, his face scraping the pavement, until the kicks started. He tried to cover his ribs, his head, he couldn’t stop them all, blood drooling out of his mouth as he yelled. 

He felt himself being lifted by the arms and dragged. He was dropped on the pavement again. One more kick had him curling up in pain, rolling onto his knees, his forehead touching the sidewalk. He rocked until the pain subsided. He finally dared to open his eyes and lift his face. He wiped the blood from his chin with the sleeve of his sweatshirt. Putting his hands on the sidewalk he pushed himself up, slowly finding his balance, leaning against a wall. His breath came out in clouds as he oriented himself, trying to see if he should get to a hospital. Spitting out more blood, he felt his ribs. He couldn’t tell if they were broken. Spot would know. Jack staggered toward home, stopping occasionally to try to clean up his face, peering into store windows to see his reflection. He knew exactly what Albert would say.


	31. Second Chances for Everyone, Sort Of

“Hey! Hey, you okay?” Jack heard a voice behind him call. He slowed down even more and tried to turn. It didn’t matter. The blue uniforms were soon in front of him. Jack put his hand on the wall and stopped, keeping his head down. Breathe, Kelly. He ached so bad he wasn’t even sure he could speak. He wouldn’t make it in jail tonight. Please...

“The heck happened here,” one of them muttered. “Hey, you all right? You don’t look so good. You need some help?”

Jack shook his head just a little, running his tongue over his lips to keep the blood from dripping. He focused on the sidewalk. “No, ma’am,” he finally managed to answer. Please let that be enough. Please God.

“You want us to take you to the hospital?” her partner asked.

Jack steadied himself before shaking his head a little again, praying he could keep standing until they were gone. “No, sir, thank you,” he rasped, hoping they wouldn’t hit him. Just don’t hit him. 

“What’s your name? Who did this to you?”

Jack tried not to laugh, although it hurt just to breathe. How many times could cops have asked him this before, he wondered. Why start now. He slowly wiped his chin again with his sleeve. “‘M good.” He swayed. “Sir.” How much longer were they gonna stand there. 

“Why don’t you come with us, you can tell us what happened, we can get you to a doctor,” the partner tried again. “You can warm up a bit. You gotta be cold, buddy.”

Keep standing. Just keep standing. He licked his lips again and kept his focus on the ground. Speak. He heaved in a breath. “Please, can I go? Please.” He waited to be cuffed. Searched? Hit? Nothing happened.

“Yeah, sure. Just trying to help,” the woman said. Jack tried to nod his thanks. They moved on, not looking back as Jack slid to his knees and gasped for breath.

Spot, Race, Charlie, and Kath stared at him silently. He didn’t shut the door behind him as he sank into a chair at the table and put his head down on his arms. Spot got up and shut the door, looking suspiciously at Jack.

Kath put her arm around Jack. “Baby, what happened? Talk to me!” Charlie had gone to the sink to make a dishcloth damp, and handed it to Kath. Jack didn’t move. “Jack?!”

Spot looked at Race. “Hey, you guys, lemme have a minute with Jack, okay? Go watch a movie or something?” Kath gave him an indignant look. “Kath, please. Just this once.” She sighed, running her fingers through Jack’s hair before getting up and joining Race and Charlie.

Spot sat down next to Jack. “The hell is this, Jacky?” Jack still didn’t move. “Hey, look at me. Lemme clean you up.” Jack turned his face toward Spot so Spot could start wiping his cheek. Spot would kick him out, for sure. 

“Who did this? Oscar? You in with Oscar again? What’d I tell you about him? Hey, get your stuff off.”

Jack slowly sat up and let Spot undress him, biting his lip as Spot pulled on the sleeves and lifted his arms. Spot rinsed the dish towel and gently wiped at more blood. 

“Fucking hell, Jacky. Why?”

“I owe him money,” Jack said, gasping as Spot kept working. “He didn’t think I had enough.”

Spot stopped for a moment. “You owe him money. For your bill? Was that it?” Jack sucked in a breath and nodded. Here it came. Would Spot let him take the backpack, he wondered. He’d have to leave the blanket Kath gave him. It was so cold out, and his ribs and face were still throbbing. He’d be hurting bad by morning. Jack blinked back the tears, angry that he was so scared. When had he gotten so weak. Take it like a man, Kelly. Grow up, you wuss. He was so tired of taking it, though. “Fuck, Jack. And you spent all that money yesterday.”

Jack finally looked at Spot. “I’m sorry.” He rubbed his eye with his palm. “Spotty, I...” he choked back a sob. “I screwed up so bad. Spot... I know you’re gonna throw me out. You saved me... I’m sorry, Spotty.” Jack put his head down again and felt hot tears rush down his cheek. It hurt his ribs to cry. Served him right, little shit that he was. How could he be so stupid? Back on the street, and for what? A couple of shirts? Pizza? He just wanted to make Charlie proud of him. He couldn’t do anything right, could he. Even with money he’d screwed everything up worse than before. He jerked as he felt Spot put his hand on his shoulder.

“Jack, look here,” Spot ordered. Jack didn’t move. The longer he stalled the better his night would go. “Look at me.”

Jack took his tshirt from the table and wiped at his face. “I’m going,” he whispered hoarsely, not looking at Spot.

“You’re not going anywhere,” said Spot. “Listen to me, Jack. You think I didn’t fuck up fifty times over before I figured out how to stay outta trouble? Now, you’re not as smart as me, so it might take you sixty, but you’ll get there.”

Jack looked at Spot in disbelief. “You’re not kicking me out?” He started to cry again with relief. “Sorry.” He wiped his tears with his hand.

“You already broke your promise to stay away from Oscar, so I ain’t gonna make you promise nothing,” said Spot. “But shit, Jack, give him all your eye doctor money in two weeks, okay? Every cent until you got it paid off. No more new shirts, got me?” Jack nodded. “You’re gonna need an aspirin.” Spot got up and went into the bathroom and came back with the bottle.

“You ready for Kath to make a fuss now?” Spot asked. Jack tried to smile. “Get your shirt on or she’ll lose her shit. Here, hold on,” he said, “lemme help.” Jack muffled a yell as they got it back on.

“Hey, Kath!” Spot shouted. “Jack’s dying. You better get in here.”

Kath stayed awake and watched Jack sleep at last. After tonight she knew he was guilty. Dad had been right after all. Thank goodness when he called she hadn’t known what she knew now about Jack and Oscar. She wouldn’t have been nearly as convincing, that was for sure. Yes, she had been there and had disarmed and reset the alarm. The dorm was so loud on the weekends, she just wanted a break. No, Jack hadn’t been there. He’d had to be at work early and didn’t want to bother her when he had to get up. Yes, Daddy, she was sure. She pictured Jack taking the jewelry, hiding it from her, and making love like he’d done nothing wrong, even if he had stolen from Lillian. Would Jack keep stealing? Would he keep getting into fights? She pictured taking their children to the jail to see their father led out to them in handcuffs. Would she actually do that? Maybe Dad was right—she could do better. Would he always burn through his money whenever he got some? She pictured a stack of bills stamped “late” as Jack burst in the door carrying five pizzas. Stop it, Kath. Relax. She reached out and stroked Jack’s hair, trying not to brush against his bruises. He opened his eyes a little and took her hand, kissing her fingers and smiling back at her before closing his eyes again.

Jack waited in the hall, his sweatshirt hood pulled up, still not entirely sure what he was going to say to Conrad.

“Morning, Jack! It’s not snowing inside! How was your weekend?” Conrad walked swiftly to the office door and started unlocking it.

Jack reluctantly took off the hood. “Okay, I guess. I got a new shirt with my paycheck.” He unzipped the sweatshirt as Conrad stopped to look.

“So you did. Very nice. New boots, too, I see. And what happened to your face, Jack?” Conrad flipped on the lights and motioned for Jack to come back to his office. Jack sat down, silent. “Well? I can’t have you in here with patients looking like that, so now I have to reschedule your day. I think I deserve an answer.”

“I borrowed money from a guy to pay my bill. He didn’t think I was paying him back fast enough.” Jack hissed as Conrad probed his jaw.

“I thought you said you could get help from friends,” said Conrad, turning Jack’s head.

“Yeah, well. I didn’t think this guy would come after me. I thought we had an agreement, you know? But he’s not real patient.” Jack turned his head back. “Can you look at my ribs real quick? My roommate said he didn’t think they were broken, but I had a heck of a time working yesterday.” Conrad flipped his hand up to show Jack to lift his shirt. Jack unbuttoned his shirt and lifted his tshirt. 

“I wish you’d have said something to me, Jack.” Conrad tried to gently examine Jack’s ribs as Jack tried not to curse.

Jack shot Conrad a frustrated look. “And said what? You didn’t have no other ideas. Ow, shit! Okay, just stop.” He pulled down his shirt and started rebuttoning.

“I don’t think they’re broken, exactly, but they might be fractured. Hard to say.” Conrad sat back and watched Jack get dressed. “You should probably get an X-ray at least, and quit moving furniture for a while. So you still owe this guy money?”

“Yeah. What do you want me to do today, then?” Jack braced his hands on the arms of the chair and pushed himself up. Like hell he’d get an X-ray and quit his job.

“Jack, I don’t think the apprenticeship rules were meant for this kind of situation, I really don’t. I’m going to give you the money and you can get this guy off your case. And we’re going to a bank over lunch and opening a bank account for you.” Conrad put his hand on Jack’s shoulder. “You don’t need to write a letter to the editor about this, okay? But I’m feeling pretty guilty and that’s what we’re going to do today. And this week during lunch we’re going to talk about how to budget now that you have some money coming in.”

Jack rolled his eyes. This guy should’ve been a banker. “Okay. So what happens when I miss a payment with you? You gonna take away my prosthetic? Take out my good eye?”

Conrad held onto Jack’s shoulder and squeezed it. “This is a gift. You don’t pay those back. I won’t take payments for this.”

“You ain’t serious.”

“As a heart attack. Or a fractured rib, anyway.” Conrad winked at Jack. Jack stared back at him, wondering if this was some kind of sick joke that he wasn’t getting. Conrad was going to fracture more of his ribs? He didn’t seem like that kind of guy.

Conrad’s face softened. “I’m serious, Jack. No payments. All I want is for you to work here in peace. You’re going to be in back for the next few days. I want to see how you do with color matching with the paints. Think you can do that and not scare the daylights out of my patients? No wandering around, okay?”

Jack started to breathe again. “Yes, sir, Conrad. I can do that.”


	32. Raiders of Various Kinds

Kath pulled into a spot and turned off the car. “So when does it stop, babe?” Kath asked. “I thought you were done stealing. Wasn’t that what Spot said?”

Jack tried not to roll his eyes. “Yeah, that’s what he said. Tell me this. What would you do if you was me? You owe more money than you’ve seen in your whole life by next week. You can’t borrow it from nobody but Oscar. Go.” He sat back against the passenger side door and watched. Kath ran her fingers along the steering wheel. Jack smirked. “Yeah. That’s what I thought.”

Kath sighed. “But you could get arrested.”

“Only if you tell Lillian or your dad it was me. He believed you, right? What’s the problem?”

“Now I know you committed another crime, is the problem!” Kath drummed her fingers.

Jack’s jaw dropped. “Well, all you gotta do is not say nothing. This is Lillian we’re talking about, remember.” 

“Okay, fine. But even when you got paid the other day, you blew it all in what, two days? You couldn’t have paid Oscar and then seen what was left? Wouldn’t that have saved you getting all beat up, baby? I mean, I know you wanted to get some stuff, but maybe you could have waited?” Kath drew up her legs and draped them over Jack’s. He rubbed her thigh, taking his time.

“Waited? You ever waited for something?” he said finally, huffing a sarcastic laugh. “I’m sick of waiting. You ever been locked out overnight with no shoes or nothing and wait till morning to get down and beg to be let inside? You ever wait for someone to let you have something to eat after a weekend of watching everybody else? Or how about waiting for some other kid to outgrow his ripped up shoes so you can have them? I didn’t have to wait, Kath, when I got paid last week. First time in my life I could get everything all at once, and get it for Charlie too. That was amazing, getting him his stuff. Did you see his face? It cost me, yeah. I made a mistake with Oscar, I know. But Kath, listen to me, it was great. It was fun, baby. The pizza was good, wasn’t it?”

“You can’t do that every time, though,” she said quietly. “Like if you had a family, you couldn’t do that every time.”

Jack looked at her, startled. “What? Is that what you’re worried about? But I’d wanna spend it to take care of them, Kath, like with Charlie, right? That’s what money’s for, right? Hey, Conrad’s got me on a budget now. He even got me to put his name on my bank account for a while so he can make sure I ain’t being stupid again. You know what he’d do to me if I blew all my money and didn’t take care of my family? You know what Spot would do to me? Jesus Christ on a stick. Hey, come here.” Jack grimaced and smiled as he leaned forward and reached for Kath’s chin. He kissed her, running his hand down her neck. He smiled as he kissed her, feeling her relax and kiss him back.

“Kath, if we had a family, you’d be in charge of the money I made if that’s what you wanted. It’d be all yours. That sound good to you?” He hesitated, wondering if he’d gone too far. We? Kath gently undid his shirt buttons as she started to kiss down his neck. She didn’t seem too upset, he thought.

Jack clocked out and met Romeo by the door. “Ready?” he asked. Romeo nodded. “Let’s go. Tell me how school’s going.” Jack listened to Romeo chatter about school and friends, teachers and recess. As they went into Romeo’s building, Romeo slowed down as he approached his door. 

“What?” asked Jack.

“Just a sec,” said Romeo, opening the door. Jack saw him flip the light switch. Nothing turned on. Romeo turned unhappily to Jack. “Sorry. I forgot. The lights don’t work sometimes.”

Jack took out his phone and turned on the light so they could see. “Is your phone charged, Rome?”

Romeo took his out, but couldn’t get it on. “Not today,” he said.

No wonder Romeo didn’t always answer his texts right away. Mystery solved there, Detective Kelly. Jack shone his light on the counter. Cockroaches scattered in the light. More trash, just two cans. “Tell you what. I’ll text your mom and say you’re gonna spend the night at my apartment if that’s okay with her. That okay with you?” Romeo grinned up at him. “Get your stuff. Get some pjs and clothes for school tomorrow and your toothbrush, okay?”

Romeo trotted up the stairs faster than Jack, and Kath had already let him in by the time Jack made it to the door. “Romeo, wait up!” he called. “Hey, you hungry?”

Romeo threw his stuff down and turned around. “Yeah! What do you have?” Jack put his bag on his mattress and pulled a chair over to the counter. Romeo scrambled up to stand on it.

Jack held Romeo’s hips and pointed to his shelf. “What do you want?”

“Umm... Mac and cheese!”

Jack took the box and got a pot out. “Hang on. Stay up there.” He started the water boiling and found a couple of plastic bags. “You gotta choose some cans to bring home with you. Looked like there was only a couple at your place.”

“Okay.” Romeo picked out some cans as Race and Charlie came over. 

“You can pick some from here, too,” said Race, pointing to their shelves. He took the half loaf of bread and some peanut butter from Spot’s shelf. Jack raised his eyebrows at Race. Race shrugged. “He can sue me.”

Jack finished fixing the mac and cheese and set a full bowl in front of Romeo at the table. He sat down next to Kath and took her hand, kissing it. “How was your day?” He looked at her face, suddenly noticing the tears in her eyes. “Babe, what’s wrong? What’s the matter?”

“Nothing,” she said, smiling at him, reaching into her purse. “I’ll donate too.”

“Hey, Kath, watch this,” said Romeo, shoving in a bite and sliding out of his chair and coming over to her. “Put up your hands like this.” He put her hands up, palms out facing him, and started to punch them. Kath started back, a little startled but laughing a bit.

“Hey, hey! Stop!” Jack pushed Romeo’s arms down. “What’re you doing, hitting a girl? Here, hit me. Show her what you can do.” He put up his palms and Romeo boxed them, his face frowning in concentration.

Race laughed at Romeo. “Hey, come here. Put ‘em up.” He got on his knees and put up his fists. “Let’s go.” Romeo yelped with excitement and jumped in front of Race. Race ducked and pretended to throw a few punches as Romeo tried to hit him. Romeo managed to tap Race on the cheek with his fist and Race fell over backwards, pretending to be knocked out. Romeo jumped on him and pummeled his chest. “Ugh, ow, okay, you win!” He rolled over and toppled Romeo onto Jack’s mattress, Romeo squealing in delight.

“Your mac and cheese is getting cold,” said Charlie, shaking his head and holding out his hand to help Romeo up. “You got your homework done?” Romeo nodded as he went over to finish his bowl.

“So where are you going to sleep?” Kath murmured to Jack. 

He grinned at her. “I dunno. I saw a cute little doorway a few blocks away. I thought you and me, y’know...” She pushed him, laughing. “Ow, my ribs. Stop. I done a lot worse than the floor, Kath. Don’t worry about me.”

Kath gathered up her things and called goodbye to Race and Charlie. “See you, Romeo.”

“Bye,” he said, taking out his pjs.

Jack put his sweatshirt back on and turned to Romeo. “I’ll be back. Just taking Kath to her car.” He opened the door and took Kath’s hand. She swung his arm as they went out, turning to kiss him as she stood by the door of her car. Jack lingered, kissing her just a little longer, before retreating to the sidewalk and watching her go. He glanced down the sidewalk and did a double take. He turned as quickly as he dared and ran back to the apartment as fast as he could, his ribs screaming in pain.

“Guys! I was here. Just say I was here. Romeo, go to Race and Spot’s room and lie down and don’t say nothing. Charlie, we watched Raiders of the Lost Ark. Got it?” Jack panted. “Race, text Spot and tell him don’t come home for a while. Just do it.” Jack gulped for air and ran his fingers through his hair. 

The knock came a few seconds later. “Kelly? Jack Kelly?”


	33. Whatever Happened to Her

Jack’s heart raced. His hands started to sweat. He’d left a clue. They knew he’d done it, somehow. Oscar told them. Kath told them? Fingerprints? How much prison time? Could he lie his way out of this? He wiped his hands on his jeans and wiped his forehead with his sleeve.

“Hey, Jack,” said Race, walking toward him with his phone, “Spot said...”

“Shut up,” said Jack, whispering fast, staring at the closed door. He straightened up and put his shoulders back, cracking his neck. “Tell Spot thanks.”

Jack opened the door. His breath was shallow as his heart pounded and he wondered if he should break through and run for it. The one lady didn’t seem like she could go fast. There might be more cops outside, though. She wasn’t really dressed like a cop, although she definitely was with one. Or some kind of one.

“Jack Kelly? Or John?” asked the woman. 

“Jack. Yes, me, John.” Jack backed up a couple of steps, starting to raise his hands. “I ain’t done nothing.”

“I’m Medda Larkin, prison chaplain where your mother is being held, Jack. Spot was supposed to tell you I was coming. It’s taken some time to find you. I had no idea the boy Spot took in was you until just the other day. This is Officer Kim, also from the prison.”

Jack stopped. She’s a what? Was his mother getting out? Were they here to arrest him or not? He kept his hands up just in case. He looked from one to the other.

“May we come in?” Medda asked.

Jack looked nervously at Race. Race didn’t like it either. “Can I just come out?” Jack asked. “Ma’am?” He waited for Kim to nod and move back into the hallway. Better to get arrested out there than in front of Romeo. Jack came out into the hall slowly, seeing Kim put himself between Jack and Medda. Shit, here he comes. Jack put his hands on the wall and spread his legs. “I ain’t got nothing sharp.” He waited for Kim to search him or cuff him. No one touched him. Jack didn’t dare move, and several seconds passed in silence.

“Jack,” said Medda, “we’re here to talk about your mother. You’re not in trouble.” Jack wondered what kind of trick this was. Just arrest him already—he wouldn’t even resist. His ribs still hurt. Kim would probably fucking break them if he laid into Jack.

Kim cleared his throat. “You can turn around, Jack. I’m not here to search you or arrest you. I go with Medda on her calls to ensure her safety.”

Jack kept his hands on the wall and his head down. “You saying I can move?” 

“Yes.”

Jack slowly took his hands down and kept his eye on Kim. He turned around to face Medda, but didn’t say anything.

Medda came forward and put her hand on Jack’s arm. “Your mother is very sick, Jack. She has told us she would like to see you, but we haven’t been able to find you until now. I’m here to tell you where she is and when you can see her, if that’s what you choose to do.”

Sick? Why the fuck did he care if she was sick? Jack tilted his head. “Sick? Like she has a cold or something?”

“No. She has cancer, Jack. She’s in hospice, which means she won’t be with us much longer. Do you want to see her?” Medda asked.

Won’t be with us much longer. Do they kick you out? Was she getting better if she wasn’t going to be there much longer? Jack opened his mouth but couldn’t really think of what to say. “Like, visit her?”

“Yes. She said she’d like to see you before she died, Jack,” Medda said quietly. “I’m so sorry.” She handed Jack a card with the prison hospice address. “This has my information on the back if you have any questions. Spot can get a hold of me too, if you decide to share this information with him.”

Jack took the card. Before she died, which meant she was dying, not getting better, obviously. He looked at Medda. “What do most people do? I mean, do people go to this place?” He didn’t even know what he wanted to ask. Was it important, he wondered. Was visiting someone who was dying an important thing to do? What would he do there? 

“Some people do. It’s up to you. You don’t have to go if you don’t want to,” Medda said. “But she did ask us to find you if we could. She probably has only a few days left, Jack, so you’ll want to make a decision soon.”

Jack wasn’t sure what to do. “Okay. Thanks.” He looked quickly one more time at Kim, just to be sure he wasn’t actually there to arrest him.

“Call me if you have any questions, then.” Medda paused. “If I can say, you look like you’ve had a rough encounter recently. Is everything all right?”

Jack started to sweat again. “Yeah, everything’s great. Got mugged. Spot cleaned me up good, though, so, yeah. Thanks.” He waved the business card. “Thanks.” He stood in the hall and watched Medda and Kim leave before sagging against the wall and sliding to the floor. He rested his arms on his knees, let his hands drop, and closed his eyes.

“Jacky, what was that?” Race asked, leaning out of the apartment door. “Come on back in. Romeo’s scared to death you got arrested.”

Jack rolled his head to look at Race. “I’m coming. Hang on just a sec.” 

Jack got Romeo wrapped up in Jack’s blanket and read him the book Romeo had taken out of the school library, enjoying the feeling of Romeo leaning up next to him against the couch. Spot came in before he was done reading, and exchanged a look with Jack. By the end of the story, Romeo had run out of steam at last, and happily snuggled down in the blanket and fell asleep on Jack’s mattress. Jack carefully extracted himself, wishing he could stay. Spot pointed to the bedroom.

Jack quietly shut the door behind Race and turned to face Spot.

“What the fuck, Jacky, telling me to stay away?” Spot whispered furiously. “Race told me what happened with your mom, and I’m sorry about that. We’ll get to that. But what the fuck, telling them an alibi before opening the door? I said I wouldn’t lie for you, but you’re asking them to? What’d you do? You ain’t told me everything, have you.” He paced the tiny bedroom, hands thrown up in frustration.

“I’m sorry. Yeah, I didn’t tell you cuz I didn’t want you to lie. I paid half my loan from Oscar with shit I stole from Lillian. Yeah, that Lillian, okay? He didn’t give me no time, Spotty. One week for that kind of money. Fuck. I thought they found out somehow, like Oscar cut a deal or something. I’m sorry. I’m real sorry. I didn’t want you here cuz I knew you wouldn’t lie, and I’d end up in fucking prison.” Jack ran his wrist under his nose, out of breath, hoping this wouldn’t be his sixty-first screwup.

“Does Kath know?” Spot asked, still frustrated.

Jack nodded nervously. “Her dad called her and asked her about me.”

“You better hope she’s a fucking good liar.”

“So far so good,” whispered Jack.

Spot sighed, shaking his head. “You gonna go see your mom?” he asked, sitting on his bed. Jack shrugged and came and sat by Spot. “When’d you see her last?”

“A while ago,” Jack said quietly. “I was eleven. My foster mom took me to see her one time cuz the social worker said to. When my foster mom wasn’t looking I showed my mom some bruises that were under my shirt. Real quick, you know. I thought she could help me. Say something. But she told my social worker she didn’t want to see me no more. Irma tried to get her to see me, but she wouldn’t. So fuck her. My mom, I mean. Not Irma.” Jack rubbed his eye hard. “I ain’t seen her since.”

Spot sat for a while with Jack. Jack rolled his shoulder and stared at the floor. “I’ll go with you, Jacky,” Spot said. “You should go.”

Jack kept staring at the floor. “Okay. Lemme call Conrad and see if he’ll let me off.”

“He will,” said Spot. “Call him now and we’ll go tomorrow.”


	34. Tears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is really sad, y’all. Get a hanky. I think I need to get some more sunshine or something.

Jack looked back at Spot, who nodded for him to go ahead. “I’ll be right here in the hall, Jacky,” he said.

Jack smoothed out his new shirt and pulled up his new jeans, tucking in his shirt a little more. He ran his fingers through his hair and rolled his shoulders back. He took a breath, clenched and unclenched his fists, and walked in with the nurse.

“Megan? Megan, time for visiting hour. Look who’s here today,” said the nurse. “Jack’s here. You asked for him, remember?”

Jack stood nervously just inside the room. The lady the nurse was calling Megan didn’t look like his mother. Well, kind of. But not really. She was shrunken, and everything around her looked too big, he thought.

“Jack...” his mother said. It was her voice, for sure, but raspy. “You’re here.”

“Yeah,” he said. He cleared his throat.

“Well, I’ll leave you two be. You have one hour,” said the nurse to Jack. He didn’t care. He wouldn’t be here that long.

“You’re so big,” Megan said. “Look at you. So strong.”

Jack shifted his weight. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Your face is scraped. Where did those bruises come from?” It took everything Jack had not to leave at that. Now she wanted to know? Fuck her.

“I got mugged. I’m fine.” He looked out the window. “What do you want?”

“Oh, Jack, don’t be like that. Come here and sit by me,” she said. He could barely hear her. She waved her finger at the vinyl chair next to her bed. “Let me see you up close.”

Jack drew in a breath and went and sat. He looked at her blankets. He couldn’t bear to look at her face, all sad and teary and lovey. He focused on thinking about Irma and felt better. Irma had understood him, strangely enough. She’d spent so much time with him, teaching him games and taking him places, enjoying his company. It had felt strange at first, getting all of that attention, and he hadn’t dared win a game until she called him on it one night, laughing. Jack realized then she would be pleased if he beat her at a game, not angry. She’d actually enjoyed losing to him, and enjoyed going through galleries with him, watching him more than the artwork. Her cake had been lopsided and the frosting hadn’t quite made it all around the sides, but he had loved seeing his name on top with the candles around the edge so they wouldn’t mess up his name. He’d stolen only two bottles of booze with her early on, on nights he remembered stuff. Irma hadn’t said anything, if she’d noticed, which she probably did, Jack suddenly realized.

“Do you?” Megan asked again.

Jack blinked and looked at her. “Do I what?”

“Do you ever think about me?”

“No,” he said.

“Oh. Jack, can I ask you something?” Megan asked, her voice getting croakier.

“Yeah. Sure.” He focused on his hands. He picked at a callus.

“I know some bad things happened to you after I... left. Do you ever cry about what happened to you?” She tried to reach for his hand, moving a couple of fingers, but he didn’t move. 

“No.” He went back to Irma. The nights he’d missed his mom he’d cry, and she’d come in and hold him. He’d cry for a long, long time, sometimes hard, sometimes not. Her nightgown shoulder and sleeve would usually get soaked. Sometimes she wouldn’t make him go to school the next day, either, with his face all puffy.

“I just want to say I’m sorry.”

“Okay.”

“Jack, do you forgive me?”

Jack still looked at his hands. He’d seen enough movies to know the right answer was yes. “Yeah.”

“I couldn’t help you. I didn’t have any say.” Megan again tried to reach toward him.

“I know.”

“I couldn’t,” she croaked again, “I couldn’t stand to see you hurt, Jack. I love you.” She closed her eyes.

Jack ground his teeth. He blinked hard and picked at a scab on his hand. Hurt? He rubbed his eye angrily. Those little bruises had been too much? Fuck. Fuck her. Jack scraped his chair back and stormed toward the door. Spot caught him. Fuck if he wasn’t even stronger than he looked, Jack thought, fighting to get free. 

“Lemme go,” Jack grunted. “I’m done.” Shit, his ribs.

“You ain’t,” said Spot. “Go back.”

“No! Fuck you,” said Jack as loudly as he dared. The guard in the hall turned his attention toward them. Jack stopped struggling and showed the guard his hands. “We’re good. We’re good.”

Spot let him go. “You gotta go back in, Jack.”

“Yeah? What the fuck for?”

“She’s dying.”

“No shit. You care so much about her, you go back in.” Jack tucked his shirt back in. “Did you hear what she said? Did I cry? What kind of sick thing is that to ask about? She didn’t wanna see me hurt? I showed her like, four bruises, Spotty. That’s it.” He rubbed at his eye again.

“So she ain’t Mother Theresa. Go say goodbye.” He turned Jack around and pushed him back into the room. Jack stumbled back toward the bed where Megan lay with her eyes still closed. Did she even know he was still there? Was she awake?

“Uh, so, I guess I should say bye,” said Jack loudly. That didn’t sound right. Fuck.

Megan’s eyes fluttered open and after a second she found Jack. “You came back.”

“Yeah. So, um, I guess I should say bye,” he repeated. It still didn’t sound right. He really was a stupid fuck.

Megan lifted her hand a little. Jack moved forward and touched it. “Bye,” he said. He would not cry like some little girl. Weak fucking wuss, Kelly. Be a man for once in your lousy life. 

“I love you,” she mouthed, and closed her eyes again.

“Mom,” he said. “Mom.” She didn’t open her eyes.


	35. When You Don’t Know What To Do

Jack opened the door right as his phone started to buzz. “Hello? Yeah, this is him. Okay. Yeah, okay, thanks.” He looked at Spot, still standing behind him in the hallway. “She died twenty minutes after we left.”

Spot gave Jack a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry, Jacky.”

“Jack, are you coming in?” Jack turned to see Kath waiting inside. “Spot called to say you went to see your mother? She’s sick? How was she doing?” 

Jack struggled to find the words. “She, uh, she... we talked, yeah. But the place just called and she... she...” His lip trembled. Get it together, Kelly. “She just...” Please don’t touch him. He felt himself start to shake. “Di... died.” Please, please don’t touch him. 

Kath rushed over and caught him in a tight hug. Jack held still, grateful for the pain in his ribs. “Oh, Jack, I’m so sorry. I’m glad they found you, but oh, how awful.” 

Jack sniffed and exhaled, waiting for her to let go. “Yeah, well. I gotta get to work. I didn’t call off at the Y, so I gotta change my shirt, Kath.” He began to push her off, gently.

“You’re joking,” she said. “You can call off, baby. You can take the night off, can’t you?”

Jack knelt by his box and changed his shirts. “I’d rather not. They hate it when folks call in last minute.” He found his sweatshirt and got it on. “Wanna give me a ride?”

Kath gave Spot an exasperated look and jingled her keys. “I guess so.” Spot shrugged back at her.

Jack leaned against the wall, waiting for Conrad. He’d get a coat with his next check, he thought. He’d ask Conrad if he thought that was a good idea first, though. A coat and some gloves would be sweet. Which budget line did that go into, he wondered.

“Jack! How’s your mom? I’m sorry she’s not well,” Conrad strode down the hallway toward the office. “Did you have a good visit?”

Jack unzipped his sweatshirt and followed Conrad in. “Yeah. Um, she died after I left, so it was good I went, I guess.”

Conrad stopped in his tracks and turned around. “What did you say?” He gave Jack a close look. “Did I hear you say she passed away yesterday?” Jack wished Conrad would just keep going, hanging up his coat, starting up his laptop. He nodded, looking at the floor.

Conrad kept looking at him. “What are you doing here?”

Jack met Conrad’s eyes, not entirely sure what Conrad was getting at. “I work here, right? You said I could go yesterday.” What was with people thinking he shouldn’t go to work? Someone dies and he’s supposed to starve? He’d already missed a day with Conrad, which would be a crap ton of money.

“Yes, of course,” said Conrad. “That’s not what I meant. I meant, your mother passed away, so why are you here today?” Jack felt his hands go cold. What did Conrad mean? People must not go to work when that happened. So, he should do what, exactly.

Jack felt Conrad watching him. “What else should I do?” He hoped Conrad would see he honestly wanted to know. Conrad hung up his coat and turned on his laptop before turning to Jack and enveloping him in a gentle, giant bear hug, mindful of his ribs. It felt so soft, Jack thought. Conrad put his hand on the back of Jack’s head and held him close. Jack tried to pull away a little, but Conrad didn’t let him go, and Jack surrendered. He felt his chest cave and his lip tremble again. 

“I gotta work, Conrad,” he muttered. “I got painting to do.” He felt Conrad sigh and let him go.

“Yes, you do,” said Conrad. “You’re doing very well, too. But yes, spend today getting caught up on the samples I set out for you.”

“Yes, sir,” said Jack. He pushed the hair off his forehead and walked quickly down the hall to the little room where Conrad had him working. Pulling the arm of magnifying glass, he positioned the glass in front of his face and got to work.

Jack left the Y, relieved Romeo was at his cousins’ for the night. He wasn’t sure he could take care of him tonight. He fingered the bills in his pocket, knowing exactly what they could get, but he’d do it the right way, for Spot. He felt like his head weighed five hundred pounds. He’d just be a little late getting home, was all. Five minutes later, he said thanks to the friendly guy who’d gotten him what he wanted, and found an alley with an abandoned stoop. He twisted the cap off. Oh, his old friend. Yes, yes, yes. Maybe this was what he was supposed to do today.

Jack stumbled into the dark apartment, unsuccessfully making the quiet entrance he had hoped for. He tossed his bag onto the floor and headed, he hoped, toward his mattress. He kicked a chair by accident.

Charlie snapped on the light by the couch. “That’s what I thought,” he said. Jack blinked slowly at him. “You’re drunk, aren’t you.”

Jack pointed at him. “Correct. Fifty points for you. But I’m a good drunk, Charlie, and you know it. Go back to sleep.” 

“I’m sorry about your mom, Jack,” said Charlie. “Sounds like you got there just in time.”

“Yup,” said Jack. “Lucky, lucky me. Just in time.”

Charlie sat up and made room on the couch. “Wanna talk about it?”

Jack staggered closer. “No. I absolutely do not want to talk about it.” He fell to his knees in front of Charlie. “What do you wanna talk about, little fella? You know I got you no matter what, right? I got you. Anybody giving you trouble?”

Charlie rolled his eyes. “Not these days. But Jack, your mom...”

“What about her. She’s...” Jack stopped. “She’s...”

“She’s dead, Jack,” said Charlie softly. “I’m sorry.” He reached out and touched Jack’s shoulder. “She should’ve protected you. From your dad. From everything. Like you protected me.” He touched Jack’s scar on his forehead.

Jack looked up at Charlie and felt the tears come this time, rushing, unstoppable. He bent over Charlie’s lap, unable to know what he felt, his face pressed against Charlie’s legs. His shoulders shook and he grabbed toward Charlie’s waist, his fists clenching at Charlie’s blanket. He screamed wordlessly into Charlie’s lap, not understanding. Why all this hurt. Why him. Why. He screamed until his throat ached.

Charlie held Jack until he was done. When he stopped, Race came out of his bedroom to help Jack into bed, taking off Jack’s boots and covering him up. He stepped over him to put his hand on Charlie’s chin, patted Charlie’s cheek, and turned out the light.


	36. Trying to Relax but This Is Jack We’re Talking About

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, a little PG-13ish. A little time has passed. Not much, but a little.

Jack adjusted the blanket in the back seat of Kath’s car, snuggling her. “You warm enough?”

“Yes,” she replied. “Are you?”

“Yeah,” he said, “I’m good.” They lay in silence for a while, Jack lazily running his fingers over her chest and breasts. “Can I ask you something?”

“Mmm...” came the sleepy reply.

“Do you think about your mom?”

“Not really. I was so little when she died, baby. I don’t remember very much at all.” Kath took her hand and intertwined her fingers with his. “Why? Are you thinking about your mom a lot lately?”

“Kind of. I wonder what it would have been like if she’d just taken me and left, instead of going crazy with a gun. Like, would we have been okay? Or would she have ended up shooting him anyway if he had stalked us or something? Would I have gone into the system anyway?”

“Oh, Jack.” Kath turned her head and kissed his arm. “You’d still be wonderful, just so you know.”

“Yeah, that’s me. My mom asked me if I ever cried about what happened after she went to jail. About the bad stuff, when I got, you know. That’s a weird question, ain’t it?”

Kath sat up and turned to Jack, wrapping the blanket around her. “She asked you that? Why? You never mentioned that before. I mean, maybe she wanted to know if you were mad or blamed her or something. I don’t know. What did you say?”

Jack shrugged. “I said no. She didn’t need to know any of that stuff. Hey, can you hand me my shirt? I’m getting cold now.”

Kath’s mouth puckered as she found his tshirt. “You lied? I mean, you did cry, right? Sometimes?”

Jack looked away and shrugged again. “Depended.” He put on his shirt and leaned back again. “That’s better,” he smiled. He rubbed her arm and opened his mouth again before closing it.

“What?” asked Kath.

Jack took a breath. “So, I been thinking, when I have kids, if I have kids, I think I’d tell them they could cry if they wanted. Not like being a brat, but if they felt sad, you know. I wouldn’t call them no names or hit ‘em or nothing if they cried.” 

“Well, that’s good. I can’t see how hitting a child would make them stop crying. Which one did that to you?” Kath asked.

“It don’t matter. I just wouldn’t do it, is all.” Jack regretted saying anything, because now he just sounded pathetic. “What would you do different?”

Kath thought a moment. “As a parent? I don’t know. My dad was actually a pretty good dad, except for now. I guess I’d have more dinners together. Sometimes it got a little lonely since his business took him away. But it wasn’t that bad, really. If he missed dinner he’d always come in and check on me later, and we’d talk. I’m not mad about any of that. It would have been nice to have had both parents, I suppose, but there wasn’t much he could do about that.”

Jack didn’t respond for a while. “I wish I hadn’t seen her,” he said finally. “What did she think would happen when she shot him? We’d go to Disneyland?”

“Maybe she hoped you would be better off. She probably didn’t think it would be worse than your dad, baby. I’m sure she never imagined you would be abused like you were.”

“I wasn’t ‘abused,’ Kath. I was an asshole most of the time. I argued and ran away and drank and stole, and broke their rules, and some folks did crappy stuff to get me to stop. I didn’t just sit there and let them hit me, you know,” Jack said, his voice rising.

“I didn’t mean...”

“The only time I let them hit me was when I knew I’d get worse if I didn’t let them. Or they’d lay into Charlie or something instead. You’d have done the same thing,” he finished. “Just don’t use that word, okay? I ain’t a wimp.” He swallowed, trying to push the lump down in his throat. 

“Jack! Stop! I’m sorry,” Kath said, shocked. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to sound like that.” She held his face in her hands and kissed him. “You’re the anti-wimp.” 

“That’s right,” said Jack. “I like that. Come here,” he said, pulling her in closer. “Lemme show you how anti-wimpy I am.” He laughed as she ran her hands through his hair and messed it up before kissing him again. This was more like it. His surprise could wait.


	37. Open A New Window

Jack and Romeo trudged up the stairs, glad to be in out of the rain at last. As they got into the apartment, Jack helped Romeo get his wet coat off, and pointed at Romeo's shoes. "Get those off, too, okay?" Romeo pushed them off, and for the first time Jack saw just how worn through they were.

"Your mac and cheese is ready," said Charlie from the couch, pointing with his pencil over to the counter.

"Thanks!" said Romeo, grabbing a bowl and filling it up.

Jack shook his head to get his hair to start drying out and headed over to the table by Race. "How's your day, Racer," he asked, slinging his arm around Race's shoulders.

"Drier than yours! Get a towel, man," said Race. Jack made a face and went to the bathroom for his towel. He came over and dried Romeo's hair first, making it stick up as much as possible, before drying his own hair.

Romeo giggled and held up his hands, fingers spread out like claws. "I'm the mac and cheese monster! Do I look scary, Charlie?"

"Very," said Charlie, not looking up from his notebook. Jack looked at Romeo and put his finger to his lips. Romeo should know better by now, really. No talking to Charlie when he had homework out. Jack leaned back in his chair, legs stretched out in front of him, ankles crossed, and watched Romeo eat. That reminded him... He turned around in his seat and took the folder out of the kitchen drawer that Conrad had made for him so that he could review his budget for this month. Conrad was a stickler for his weekly reports, he grumbled to himself silently, but it had been useful. He had enough to get a used coat and gloves, finally, but he was going over budget with food with Romeo here so much, and now that Romeo needed shoes, well, the coat would have to wait. Jack had wanted to get a new coat, but Conrad had said no. Used would have to do, still, if he wanted to meet his goal for his big surprise. That had stung, but fine. Grace didn't even seem to notice Romeo was gone most of the time, now that she'd quit even trying to hide the bottles. But between Romeo's aunt and Jack, things had worked out okay, he thought. Better than the fucking system, anyway.

"Jack," said Romeo, his mouth full, "I wanna go to the aquarium."

"Swallow your food," said Race. "Try again."

Romeo swallowed obediently. "I wanna go to the aquarium."

"Okay? Maybe sometime I can take you," said Jack, having no idea when or how that would happen.

"I mean for school."

"Okay, good. You should go." Jack exchanged a look with Race. What was this.

"I need my mom to sign a permission slip, and I need twenty dollars," said Romeo. Jack looked at Race again.

"I'll split it with you, Jacky," said Race. He looked at Romeo. "Gimme the form." Romeo dug out a crinkled piece of paper from the bottom of his bag, and handed it to Race. Race smoothed it out as best he could and got a pen from Charlie's backpack. He scrawled Grace's name at the bottom and crinkled the form back up again. "There you go."

Romeo took the form back, eyes big. "Thanks. Am I gonna get in trouble?"

"Nah," said Jack. "No one looks at those forms unless you drown at the aquarium. So don't drown, okay?" He dug a ten out of his wallet and held his hand out to Race, fingers wiggling. Race took out his wallet and got two fives, and Jack gave it all to Romeo. "Don't lose this. Don’t let no one see it but your teacher. We ain't got enough to pay again." Romeo nodded seriously and shoved the money into the bottom of his backpack with the form.

Conrad sat back toward the end of the day and looked at Jack's budget report, trying to decipher his handwriting. Jack was going a little off the rails in some categories, and doing great in others, like his big goals fund. Better than great. Conrad didn't necessarily want to know the details of every purchase, but had insisted on them anyway for the time being. Jack had bought shoes and gone to the aquarium? Conrad thought he'd wanted a coat. And Conrad hadn't seen Jack wear anything but the boots he'd gotten earlier. He was buying more food, which was probably good, even if he was a little over budget. Still...

"Jack!" he called down the hall. No answer. "Jack!"

Jack poked his head out of the workroom. "Yes, sir, Conrad. Right here."

"Come on in for a moment, would you?" Conrad moved aside as Jack came into his office. "Tell me about this," he said, waving Jack's report. As Jack explained each item, Conrad felt a wave of despair.

"You're spending a lot of money on Romeo," said Conrad. "Is that okay with you? You won't build up your savings this way."

Jack looked closely at Conrad. "Nobody else is doing it. He needs stuff. His mom isn't around much, so I do it. Or sometimes his aunt takes care of him and gets him what he needs. What am I supposed to do? Sorry, kid, no breakfast for you, I gotta save? You gotta sit in the cafeteria all day when everyone else gets to go to the aquarium? That sucks, Conrad, can I tell you? No way." He glanced at the clock. "I gotta go. Are we good?"

Conrad nodded. "Of course. As long as you know the choices you're making, we're good. Move the budget around so it fits right, though, okay? The little stuff matters, Jack. Have a good evening."

Jack grinned and got up to go. "I know what I'm doing now. But I'm ready to pull the trigger on the big one, right? You liked it, right? Cuz I’m doing it, Conrad! I’m doing it for real! See you tomorrow." Conrad waved him out of the office. Jack was a lot of trouble, for sure, although his work was excellent. He put up a good front, but Conrad knew he had felt Jack almost collapse in his hug when his mother died. The briefest of sags, the hitch in his breath. Conrad wished he could do more.

Jack lay on the floor, hand under his head, listening to Romeo murmur to himself in his sleep. That kid was so fucking cute even when he was keeping him awake, he thought. Jack went over and over the numbers in his head. He could do this. Conrad had said he was ready, so he really must be, right? If he wasn't, he could, well, Jack wasn't sure what he'd do. He'd figure it out. But what if it worked? He pictured it, smiling in the dark. 

Jack turned to Kath, grinning as he put the blindfold over her eyes. He got out and went around to help her out, and tested the blindfold again by waving his hand in front of her face. He gently led her to the door and up the stairs. His hands shook so hard it took him four tries to unlock the door. He shoved his shoulder against the door to get it open, took off her blindfold, and stood back from the doorway, letting her go first. He watched her face for a second, then turned to look at the apartment himself. The bed would eventually go over there, and he’d get a small table over by the tiny stove sometime. He walked over to the window and ran his finger along the crack in the windowpane. He'd look out this window when it was raining, or snowing, and love being in his own place. His! All his. All theirs. Conrad thought they'd sweat to death in the summer and freeze in the winter, and he was probably right, Jack thought, but once Conrad had shaken his hand, Jack didn't care. He'd buy a fan and Kath could sit in front of it. He’d get her ice cubes from the little fridge. He'd buy a space heater for her when it got cold. He'd pay for everything.

Hands still trembling, he turned to Kath. "Well? What do you think?!" He bit his lip, hardly breathing.

She turned around, looking at the room. “Oh, Jack, it’s darling. Are you sure you can afford it?”

Jack nodded. “Conrad helped me. He said I can probably quit the moving job in a month, and probably the Y in six months, just to get my savings up a little. He’s really worried I’ll break my hand or something if I keep moving furniture. But pretty soon I’ll have weekends free, babe. We’ll have them together. I’m gonna put our bed in this corner when I get it, and there’s even room for an air mattress for anyone who needs to crash until I can get a couch. And a table over here.”

Kath held up her hand. “Our bed?”

Jack swept his hand around the room. “For us. Once you’re done with school this semester. This is for us.” He smiled hopefully at her. “Surprise!” Kath took a step back.

Jack’s smile faded. Fuck. She didn’t move. He crossed the room and took her hands, looking down. “It ain’t forever, Kath. Once I get done with my apprenticeship and get a real job, it’ll be better. And you’ll be done with school by then, so then you’ll be working, if you want. It’s just for a few years.” What the fuck had he been thinking. Of course she’d hate it. Christmas break was one thing. But years?

Jack kept going. “Albert’s gonna get kicked out soon, and he’s gonna need my mattress at Spot’s. We promised him. And I can do it now, get my own place. I swear Conrad helped me figure it out. I can always pick up hours with Kloppman later on if I start to run short. You know I can work, Kath. You can have a desk over here, right? And a little lamp? You can fix it up the way you want. We don’t need a couch. And I won’t bother you none when you’re studying. And you can have the closet. All I need is my box.”

Jack took a breath and fidgeted with his hands. “Well? Did I screw up?” He waited for her to slap him across the face. 

Kath turned to Jack and held his hands. “You are the most incredible person I’ve ever known. Did you even imagine this a year ago? Look at you now. This is perfect. Just perfect. I can’t wait to move in.” She leaned in and kissed him as Jack’s mind burst into fireworks.


	38. Not Sure There’s A Theme Here: Romeo and Albert

Jack kicked off his boots and flung himself down on his mattress. “I’m done, Charlie. This old lady owned the heaviest furniture I have ever seen in my life. Every fucking room. Took us all damn day.” He could not move. At all.

Charlie finished his sandwich and rinsed off his plate. “She hadn’t dusted it in a million years, either, looks like. You’re a mess.”

“She gave us lunch, though. It was good... sandwiches and cookies. Lemonade. And she tipped us good too. Then we had to move the fucking table.” Jack closed his eyes, unable to feel his body. How he had managed to get home he would never know. Fucking hell.

“Hey, at least when you move it won’t be so bad,” said Charlie cheerfully. “Hell, you’ll be done in five minutes. You ready for that? What, in two days?”

“Three,” mumbled Jack. Kath would be here soon. He should probably shower. No probably about it, he thought. Get in the damn shower, Kelly. He didn’t move.

Someone started knocking insistently at the door. “Jack! Charlie? Someone home? Let us in!” Charlie hopped over to the door at the sound of Kath’s voice, opening the door for her. Kath rushed in, holding Romeo’s hand. “Charlie! I ran into Romeo on my way in. Jack, come look what happened!”

Jack lifted his head and tried to see Kath and Romeo without having to get up. Kath seemed fine. Romeo seemed, well, not fine? He pushed himself up a little to get a better look. His coat was ripped a little. Black eye. Okay. “Hey, Romeo,” he said, lying back down, “where’d you get the shiner?” He closed his eyes again.

“Jack! Get up!” said Kath. “This is not okay!” She took Romeo over to the table and got his coat off.

“Okay, kid, tell us what happened,” said Jack, not moving, eyes still closed.

“Some of the big kids saw my aquarium money and took it yesterday. I punched them but they punched me back,” said Romeo.

“Told you not to show no one,” said Jack. “Ain’t kidding, you know. You gotta hit ‘em hard enough so’s they don’t hit back.”

“Jack, this is not Romeo’s fault!” said Kath. “Get. Up.” Jack dragged a hand up to his face and rubbed his cheek before setting his hands and pushing himself up.

“You are filthy,” said Kath. “My God.” 

Jack felt the last spark of energy he had come roaring to life. He came at her, wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up, rubbing his face on her neck and chest. “What? What did you say? I’m what?” He put her down and rubbed his hands on her face. “I’m super clean?”

Kath shrieked and turned away. “Charlie! Help! Gross!” Romeo jumped up and pulled on Kath’s arm to get her away from Jack. Jack turned to him and swept him up, holding him by his ankles.

“Aghh! Help!” Romeo twisted and laughed. “Somebody help meeee!” Jack carried him over to the couch cushion next to Charlie and dropped him on his head. Romeo laughed and waved his legs in the air. “Do it again! Do it again!”

Jack turned back to Kath, grinning, but feeling the fatigue hit even harder this time. “See? A black eye ain’t so bad.”

Jack came out of the shower and flopped down next Charlie on the couch. “Okay, Romeo, come here. For real, lemme see your eye.” Romeo climbed onto the arm of the couch and held still. Jack peered at his eye. “You’ll be okay. Did the big kids get in trouble?”

“No, just me,” said Romeo. “I hit first. So I can’t go to the aquarium anyway.” He held up his fist. “I punched just like you said, Jack, but they laughed at me. You didn’t teach me right. And it hurt when they hit me.”

“Well yeah, it hurt. You didn’t cry, did you?” asked Jack. Romeo nodded. “You did? Did they hit you again?” Romeo nodded again.

Jack shook his head. “You can’t cry when they hit you, Romeo.”

“Jack,” started Kath.

“But it hurt,” said Romeo. “Are you gonna come to the school with me again and yell at them?”

“It don’t matter if it hurt. You don’t cry right there in front of them. And no, I ain’t gonna go yell at nobody. You’re getting big, and I’d get in trouble. We’ll practice more fighting so you don’t need me, see?” Jack met Romeo’s eyes to make sure he understood. “We’ll have lots of room at my new place to practice.”

Jack saw Kath’s exasperated look and ignored it.

Jack met Charlie and Albert outside the school on Albert’s birthday. Albert scowled at Jack and walked a little ahead of him the entire way to his apartment, not waiting for Charlie either. Jack looked at Charlie and shrugged. Charlie shrugged back. They waited in the hallway as Albert got his bag, and walked behind him again all the way to Spot’s.

Albert stopped abruptly before going in the building, turning to wait. “You sure you’re moved out, Jack?”

“I got everything in Kath’s car this morning, so yeah, I’m out,” said Jack. “The mattress is all yours, and you even get the sheets Kath got for it. I bought you a pillow and my key’s on the table.”

“It’s gonna be fine, Albert,” said Charlie. “Spot and Race are used to lots of company by now.”

”What if,” Albert paused, “what if they don’t like me? I mean, they know me, a little, but what if they change their minds?” He stared at the sidewalk.

“Hey, I didn’t like you at first, and we figured it out, right?” said Jack. “You didn’t like me neither. And we was all in the same room. This place is a palace. You got two rooms here.”

“You were an asshole,” said Albert, starting to smile.

“Don’t I know it. Listen, if Spot and Race toss you out, you just come to my place, okay? I ain’t far. Don’t worry about it. Don’t go sleeping in no alley,” said Jack. 

“You ain’t even got a mattress or nothing,” said Albert. “Why would I go to your dump?”

“Fuck you,” said Jack, smiling. “You going in or what? You got a cake waiting for you.” Jack had never struck Albert dumb before, and enjoyed the moment, grinning at Charlie.

“Don’t fuck with me,” Albert said. “The fuck you got me a cake, Jack.”

Jack got serious when he saw the change in Albert’s face. “You got a cake waiting, Albert. Whaddaya say we go eat it?”

Charlie grabbed the railing and started up the steps. “Let’s go, huh? Spot and Race probably already ate it with you two gabbing out here so long.” 

“Come on, Albert. I even got candles this time,” said Jack.

”Does that mean you like me better?” asked Albert.

“Yeah,” said Jack, “that’s what it means. Move it.”


	39. Jack Kelly’s Place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super short. More action to come.

Jack dropped his box in the hall and got his apartment door open. “Come here,” he said to Kath, holding out his arms. She approached, smiling, and laughed as he scooped her up, an arm under her knees and an arm under her back, and carried her across the threshold.

He put her down and and held her face in his hands as he kissed her. “I’ll like coming home to this a lot better than those ugly mugs we left behind,” he said smiling. “You smell better, too.”

“That’s not a high bar on either count,” said Kath, kissing him back. “But they’re sweet.”

“If you say so.” Jack went out into the hall for his things. Box of clothes, blanket, pillow. Check. Move in complete.

“Where’s your food, baby?” asked Kath. “I had it all in a bag.”

“I left it for Albert,” said Jack. “He didn’t have nothing, and he can’t use Mayer’s card till tomorrow.”

“Well, now you don’t have nothing, genius.” Kath rolled her eyes. “What’re you going to give Romeo next time he’s here?”

Jack shrugged. “I can get stuff later. I figure I can eat at the kitchen this week until I get paid so Conrad don’t see me go over budget. I’ll get some stuff for Romeo, though.” He frowned as Kath got a twenty out of her purse. “No way. Knock it off.” Jack suddenly wanted Kath to go back to her dorm so he could be alone.

“Fine,” she said. “What should we do now, then?”

Jack came close and gave her a hug, swaying a little from side to side. “You got studying to do? You should probably head back to the dorm, hm? It’s late.”

“Oh, wow. You’re really mad at me? I just wanted to make sure you could get something to eat, Jack. And I thought you got this place for us, so we could be together.” Kath’s tone got a little sharp, he noticed guiltily.

“That’s not it, babe. I’m not mad. Thank you for the money. Look, I’ll take it, okay? I’ll use it for Romeo. It’s just, I’m tired, and I’m not feeling like very good company right now. It just feels strange, being here, in my own place. I don’t know what to say. Can we have tomorrow night together, baby? Please? I’ll make the wait worth it.” He stopped swaying and looked into her face, hoping she might understand. He craved being alone more than he had ever remembered. He couldn’t take company much longer, not after Albert’s party, not after taking her money, not after wondering when he would ever have his own place. He just needed to be left alone. His mind started to close in and he was just so, so tired.

“All right,” she sighed. Jack kissed her with relief, praying his gratitude showed somehow. “You better kiss better than that tomorrow, though.”

“I swear I will. Promise. I’ll kiss you a thousand times better. All night, I swear,” Jack whispered gratefully. 

Jack shut the door behind him, finally alone. He stood still for a moment, listening to the silence. No roommates, no Kath. No Romeo. No nobody. He walked across the room and laid out his blanket and pillow on the floor before going to look out the window. His window. He went to the sink and turned the water on and off. His water. He turned the ceiling light bulb on and off. He turned all the way around, looking at each wall. He sank to his knees and enjoyed being in his room. He paid for it. No one could throw him out. He’d decide who could be here. He loved just being in this room. He sat down and hugged his knees, rocking a little. The last time he’d been alone was when he was on the street, he realized. He liked this kind of alone, though, inside, and unafraid. 

He put his head on his knees and stopped rocking. No rain would get him here, no cops, no baseball bats, no bodies on the floor. He squeezed his arms tight around his knees, willing himself not to remember. He felt the tears start and choked back a sob. Twelve years of not being at home, he thought. Even then it had sucked. Well, this wouldn’t suck. This would be good, and all his. This would be like in the movies, sometimes, like the ones Kath liked. Maybe it wasn’t that nice, but no one would get hit, and they’d be like Spot and Race. Just quiet, with no shouting or nothing. Jack wiped his tears away, angry that those old memories had come into his room already. Not here. He thought back to the stairwell and the alley where Spot had found him, beat up and too scared to even tell Spot his name. Not here, Jack.

“Jack Kelly,” he said. “JACK KELLY.” Nothing happened. “THIS IS MINE.” Silence. “YOU HEAR ME? IT’S MINE. GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY.”

He listened to the quiet some more, and went over to the light switch. He shut off the light and went to his blanket, folding it over himself as he got adjusted on the floor. Jack Kelly’s place. He liked how that sounded. His eyes adjusted to the dark as he got used to how the light looked coming in through the window. No one would yank him out of bed here. Stop it. He’d be the one making sure everyone slept good. He’d make sure no one would be scared. And tomorrow he’d make sure Kath’s first night here was everything she wanted. 


	40. Fluff and Drang

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fucking forty chapters, y’all. Think of what we all could have accomplished instead.
> 
> The fluff at the beginning has been begging to be included for a while, so fine, the fortieth chapter seemed as good a place as any, so sue me. It’s more of a one-shot, and then we get back to our real story.

“Jack, we have an unbeliever,” said Conrad. “Care to join us for a moment?”

Jack grinned and put down his brush. “You know I love this part.” He followed Conrad into his office and saw a small boy sitting on his mother’s lap.

“This is Jack Kelly, my apprentice,” said Conrad to the boy’s mother. “Jack, this is Eduardo and his mother Sonia. Eduardo is having a tough time thinking about a prosthetic.”

Jack nodded to Sonia and knelt down by Eduardo. “Eduardo, how you doing,” Jack said gently. “Did you come to talk to Conrad about a prosthetic eye?” Eduardo looked suspiciously at Jack.

“Look here. I got a prosthetic eye. Can you tell which one?” Jack held his head still.

Eduardo looked at Jack’s face and pointed to the prosthetic. “You got scars like me,” he said.

“That’s right, I do,” said Jack. “But the eye looks good, doesn’t it?” Eduardo looked again and agreed. “What’s your question, Eduardo? Don’t you wanna look handsome like me?”

Eduardo turned serious. “Does it hurt to put it in?”

Jack shook his head. “Nope.”

“Does it ever fall out?”

“Nope.”

Eduardo hesitated. “Do people stare at you?”

Jack grinned. “Only to admire my handsome face. I like it, you know? Good-looking guys like us need to be glad to give everyone something handsome to look at.”

“Scars aren’t handsome.”

”Oh, yeah? Tell that to my gorgeous girlfriend. She thinks they’re handsome, right, Conrad?” Jack grinned up at Conrad, who shook his head, smiling. Eduardo looked admiringly at Jack.

“You wanna touch my scars?” Jack asked. Eduardo reached out and lightly traced Jack’s scars. “Eduardo, I’m telling you, a good prosthetic like Conrad’s will make it easier for folks to ignore your scars, cuz they’ll be looking at your eyes. That’s the truth. Do you believe me?” Eduardo nodded.

“You gonna let Conrad do his work, then?” Jack asked. Eduardo nodded again.

“Good,” said Jack. “And when you get your prosthetic, we’ll ask the folks in the office which one of us is handsomer, okay?”

Eduardo nodded enthusiastically at that and turned to his mom, smiling. “I’ll win, Mama,” he whispered.

Jack stood up and smiled when Conrad winked at him. “Back to work, Kelly,” said Conrad. Jack waved at Eduardo and exchanged a smile with Sonia, and went back down the hall.

Jack did love his own place, although he found he missed having someone to whine to when he came home tired. Charlie always humored him, he realized now. Jack rubbed the back of his neck and wished desperately for his air mattress as he kicked off his boots. Getting the apartment had been one thing. Actually living in it was another. A mattress would be his after his next check, for sure. Stick with it, Kelly, he reprimanded himself. Just stick with it and you’ll get there. Since when did he start to sound like Conrad, he wondered.

The day of moving had worn him out, although thankfully it didn’t rival the previous weekend with weight. Dirt was another thing entirely. He pushed his sweaty hair off his forehead, stripped off his grimy tshirt, and peeled off his gritty, sweaty socks, leaving a trail of clothes as he headed to the tiny shower, swearing to himself that he’d always keep his own place clean, if for no other reason than to help the moving guys who had to clear it all out when he died.

He turned at the sound of a knock at his door. Spot and Romeo weren’t supposed to be here for another hour. “You’re early!” he shouted, walking to the door, “I gotta get a shower!”

He yanked the door open and froze. “Kath. Mr. Pulitzer,” he said, his heart almost stopping. He backed up and snatched up his shirt from the floor, pulling it on inside out. Kath smiled apologetically, slowly stepping into the room as her father followed.

Pulitzer had anticipated the bad neighborhood, trying not to show Kath his frustration with her still playing house with this boy. He’d tried not to think about how she was living over Christmas break, waiting for her to call, and trying to stay calm when she didn’t. But now, this boy had rented an apartment for them? Kath was talking like she was moving in permanently when the semester was over. Surely this had to stop, her stubbornness. When would she find it in herself to be happy for him, he wondered.

Kath breezed through the filthy hall and up the dim stairs, Pulitzer following her to the room at the back of the building. She knocked and he heard Jack yelling, obviously expecting someone else as he jerked open the door. Did people get this dirty making prosthetic eyes, he wondered at first. Jack had other jobs, though, if he remembered right. This must be from his moving job, he guessed. Pulitzer took some satisfaction at Jack’s retreat to gather up a shirt from the floor, his eyes wide with, what, was it actually fear? He watched Jack run the top of his wrist under his nose and run his fingers through his hair, clearly unnerved. 

“Jack,” Pulitzer said. 

“Mr. Pulitzer,” Jack said, looking at Kath from the corner of his eye. “Please come in.” Pulitzer came in, looking for a chair, but seeing only a blanket, pillow, and a box in the entire room. Ketchup packets littered the counter along with a couple of styrofoam cups.

Kath smiled at Jack. “Busy day?”

“Uh, yeah. Um, yeah, we was, we were busy all day,” Jack stammered. “Sorry. I haven’t showered yet.” He wiped his hands on his pants and extended his hand to Pulitzer. Pulitzer shook it briefly. He saw Jack shoot Kath a puzzled look.

“Jack, my father called me to tell me his wedding date, and to invite us. We talked for a little while, and he wanted to see the apartment you got for us. I would have called, but I knew you were working. Did you get my text?” Kath asked. Jack shook his head.

Pulitzer walked further into the room and turned around. “I’ll be frank, Jack. Of course I want Kath to be at the wedding, and I hope she and Lillian can learn to be friends someday. Kath said she wouldn’t come without you and hoped you and I would likewise get along someday. So you are invited to the wedding.” He paused, waiting for Jack to reply.

Jack was giving him an odd look. “Why would I come? To get arrested again? End up in jail again? Kath, I know you’re trying to be nice, but I ain’t going no place where the cops’ll arrest me.”

“Why, did you commit a crime, Jack? What is there to be afraid of? You were arrested for theft once already, and did your time. Is there reason to believe you’d be arrested again?” Pulitzer looked innocently at Jack, enjoying seeing him squirm. Oh yes, this was rich, watching the guilty boy sweat. Pulitzer took the liberty of opening the refrigerator, not at all shocked to see it empty, but turning back in time to see Jack grit his teeth in humiliation. Satisfying.

“No, there.. isn’t,” said Jack, lifting his chin a little. “There wasn’t no reason the first time either.” 

Pulitzer stepped in closer. “I know when someone is lying to my face, boy. You just haven’t been caught yet.”

Jack stuck his fists in his pockets and met Pulitzer’s stare. “Look around. If I stole something, don’t you think it would show? Hm? I paid for all this myself.” As he pointed around the room his voice shook, much to Pulitzer’s satisfaction.

“You’re doing well, then,” Pulitzer said. “No need to steal anything from anyone to pay for your medical bills.” Bingo. He watched Jack’s jaw set. “Well enough to support my daughter. Katherine won’t be needing my financial support anymore, is that what you’re saying?”

“No, sir, she won’t,” said Jack, his cheeks flushing.

“Jack,” said Kath. “Dad, please. Enough. I am not chattel, you know. I do have agency. Can we please just agree to get along at the wedding?”

“Jack is welcome at the wedding,” said Pulitzer. “We will have security cameras and security personnel, of course. And they’ll know exactly who Jack is.”

“Good for them,” said Jack. “I won’t be there. I got work, anyway.” 

“Katherine, if you choose a life with this criminal, you will not receive any more support from me. Just because he said he didn’t do it doesn’t make him innocent. Let me take you back to the dorm and you can think about that.” Pulitzer went to the door.

“I’m staying, Dad,” said Kath, taking Jack’s hand.

“Suit yourself, Katherine. I’ll see you at the wedding, then. Buy a new dress, will you? Lillian’s wedding planner will be in touch to give you suggestions on what to get.” Pulitzer turned to go. “I’m sure Jack will be happy to pay for it.” He tried to slam the door behind him, but it got stuck. He tried again with no luck. So much for the dramatic exit. Well, it had been dramatic enough. He left quickly, wondering how everything had gone so wrong.


	41. Jack Has A Solution for Everything

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PG-13ish

Kath turned and sobbed into Jack’s shoulder. “I hate him! Why is he so awful?”

Jack led her back to his blanket and settled them against the wall. He leaned his head back and exhaled. This couldn’t last. He was guilty and they all knew it. Even if he confessed and went back to jail, would there be any promise that they’d think he was good enough for her when got out? He laughed a little. Good one, Kelly. Jail ain’t gonna matter to Pulitzer, he thought, but there was one thing him and Pulitzer thought a lot about. Money.

“Kath?” he asked. She sniffled. “You gotta go back to your dad. Tell him that even though I didn’t take anything, I’ll pay him back. Wait, just listen. Ask him if I do that, will he still pay for tuition and your dress and stuff.”

“But Jack, that will take ages. I hate him so much!” Kath wiped her eyes with her hand. “He’ll think you’re confessing!”

“Listen, I want you to move in here more than anything in the world. But we both know I can’t pay for your dress or anything. You love your dad, right? Even when you’re mad at him?” Jack kissed her, running his hands under her shirt and unhooking her bra. “Text him now and ask.”

“Are you serious?” asked Kath.

Jack nodded as he took off her shirt and started kissing her breasts. “If we hurry your dad will say yes and we can have a little fun before Romeo gets here.”

“Jack, seriously. It will take you forever to pay him back. Are you sure?” Jack shrugged as he kept kissing her. So he’d just keep working at Kloppman’s. No big deal. He felt Kath take out her phone and tap out a text, and he slowly pulled her down on top of him. She had finally started kissing him back when her phone vibrated.

“What’d he say?” he mumbled, still kissing as she pulled away.

“He said okay,” Kath said, sounding a little stunned. “He wants you to come over every Sunday after work and pay cash from your job with Kloppman.” She started getting dressed, still looking at her phone and turning away as Jack reached for her.

Jack pushed himself up, trying to focus. That was almost too easy. “He won’t cut you off if I do that? And you said I didn’t do it, right?”

Kath read the text again. “Yes, I said that. He won’t cut me off, and he said it’s a good idea.”

Jack paused. “Okay. Wait, wait! Go with me. Go with me when I take my money over there. You keep track of my payments and your dad can keep track too, and just in case Lillian’s hiding in some corner I want you there.”

“I hate this idea.”

Jack started to undress as he headed for the shower. “Well, he likes it, and that’s what matters. I’ll fix all this, Kath, don’t you worry. Hey, get the door if Spot and Romeo show up okay?”

Kath nodded, and a couple of minutes later she heard Romeo’s little voice in the hall. She went to yank the door open just as Spot was leaning into it, and Spot and Romeo crashed into the room, falling into Kath. Jack leaped out of the shower and into the room, panicked.

Spot and Romeo looked up at Jack and burst out laughing. “Nice, Jack. Nice view for Romeo,” said Spot. Romeo giggled and pointed at Jack.

Jack grabbed his blanket and covered himself, reaching down to help Kath up. “I thought you was breaking in. You okay?” he asked her.

“Fine,” she smirked. “What are you, Braveheart or something? Don’t you need blue paint for that to work?”

Romeo kept giggling. “Jack, you don’t have any clothes on.” He rolled on the floor, laughing.

Jack swung a corner of the blanket at him and got some clean clothes out. “Just gimme a minute, smartass,” he said, and went back into the bathroom. He came out dressed and swung Romeo around. “What do you think? Like it?” He put Romeo on his hip and carried him to the window. “I even got a view.”

Romeo looked back into the room. “Where do I sleep, Jack? Where’s your food shelf?” 

“Working on that, little man,” said Jack. “You got a blanket at your place you can bring over?” Romeo nodded.

“And I got paid so we can pick up some snacks on our way home, okay?” Jack looked over at Kath. “You wanna have a sleepover with Romeo and me? I can teach you how to fight, too.”

Kath came over and kissed Jack and pecked Romeo on the cheek. “I have class in the morning, so I should get back. I’ll let you know if I need to fight my professor.” 

“Stay here and study,” said Jack. “It’ll be fun.”

“Pleeease,” begged Romeo, turning puppy dog eyes to her.

Kath sighed. “Okay. But I’ll wait here while you guys go out and get your stuff, all right?”

Jack kissed her again. “Spotty, you wanna get fighting lessons from me?”

“So I can learn how to lose? I should get back. Charlie and Albert swore they could make grilled peanut butter sandwiches and I want to make sure they don’t burn the place down. See ya, Romeo.” Spot gave Romeo a poke and punched Jack’s shoulder back. “Later.”

Jack followed Romeo to his apartment door, watching him reach for his key. Romeo looked in his other pocket, and felt around his neck. “What’s the matter? Where’s your key?” Jack asked.

Romeo checked his pockets and his neck again. “I dunno. I don’t have it,” he said, his eyes starting to tear up. “I can’t lose it again! Mom got really mad last time.” 

Jack put his hands out, palms down, to get Romeo to calm down. “Hey, hey! It’s okay.” He looked up and down the hall and checked for cameras. “Watch this. You don’t always need no key.”

He took out his wallet, found his bobby pins, knelt down, and got to work as Romeo watched carefully. The lock slid open and Jack opened the door. “See that? Now get a blanket and let’s go, okay?” Jack leaned in the doorway to watch the hallway as Romeo dashed to his room and came back holding a blanket.

“Can I try?” Romeo asked.

Jack checked the hallway again. Not a good idea, Kelly. But Romeo should know, just in case, and they could practice on the open door, he supposed. He took Romeo’s blanket and put it under his arm.

“Come here,” he said quietly. “Real quick.” He guided Romeo’s hands and showed him how to move the bolt in the lock. “Got the idea? Yeah? Good. Don’t tell nobody I taught you, okay? I don’t feel much like going back to jail.”

Romeo nodded and took Jack’s hand. “I won’t tell anyone.” Jack pulled the door shut and got them out of there.


	42. Jack Makes A Good Call

About a week later...

He’d have to do better. He couldn’t ask her to sleep on the floor forever, even just on the weekends. Jack rolled onto his side and watched Kath and Romeo sleeping in the early morning light, moving closer to Kath so he could put his arm around her. Would she wait for him to do better, now that he had promised to pay Pulitzer back?

Romeo talked to himself in his sleep again, making Jack smile. He was getting better at fighting, for sure. His little fist had actually stung a bit when he’d hit Jack in the face last night by accident. Jack grinned, remembering Romeo’s thrill at actually making Jack blink. Kath had tried to keep studying in the middle of all that, but he’d noticed she was also kind of paying attention to what he was saying to Romeo. And when Romeo had been in the shower, Jack couldn’t have loved her more when she took some of Jack’s socks and put them in Romeo’s backpack. Why hadn’t he thought of that. She’d seen it too, evidently. Romeo would be happy, Jack knew. A school nurse had once done that for him. Was it the time he puked at school? He couldn’t quite remember.

Jack slowly got up and got dressed. Why did people move so much, he wondered for the thousandth time. How did they own so much shit, he wondered yet again. He reached for his boots and saw Romeo sit up.

“Go back to sleep,” Jack whispered. “It ain’t time to get up yet.”

“I wanna stay here again,” said Romeo.

“You been here most of the week,” said Jack. “Me and Kath got plans. Your aunt is gonna be waiting for you, anyway. She said she’s taking you and your cousins to the library today. You’ll like it.”

“But I like it here,” said Romeo. Jack bet he did. No one grabbing his arm and slapping him around for losing his key.

Jack shook his head. Crazy kid. “No. Go to your aunt’s, okay? I’ll text you and you can tell me what books you checked out. I’ll read them to you later.”

Romeo pouted. “Okay.”

“Hey,” said Jack, “you’ll be back here in no time. I just need your aunt to take you for a few days, okay? You know I’m broke.”

Romeo nodded. “I know.”

Jack came over and held Romeo’s head with both hands as he kissed the top of it. “Thanks. Text me.” He turned to Kath and kissed her cheek. “See you after work.”

Kath turned onto her back and sat up. “I should get up, too, actually.” She twisted her back around and rolled her head. “I start my job today, did I tell you?”

Jack and Romeo turned their shocked faces to her. “I’ll take that as a no,” she said. “If I’m moving in soon, you’ll need my help, right? I got a job waitressing down the street for the summer.” She looked again at Jack and Romeo. Surely she had lost her mind, Jack thought. Waitressing? At that place? He hadn’t been sure how he was going to support them, but this wasn’t it.

“Great, Kath. We could use the money for sure. I gotta go. Romeo, be good for your aunt.” Jack dashed out the door and practically ran around the corner before bursting into laughter. Kath would last one, maybe two days. But if she could stand getting pinched all day, the tips should be good.

Jack opened the car door and got in, patting his pocket. “Let’s go give all my money to your dad. I can’t wait.” He leaned over and kissed her. “How was your first day?”

“I sucked,” said Kath. “I sucked so bad. I couldn’t do anything right.”

Jack rubbed his thumb on her cheek. “You only worked four hours, babe. How bad could it be? Did they tip good, at least? You didn’t pour coffee on no one, did you?” Kath just looked at him. “Oh. So, no good tips?” Kath shook her head. Well, shit, he thought.

“Did they fire you already?” he asked. She shook her head again. “Are you gonna tell me or are we playing twenty questions?”

“I poured coffee on someone. I mixed up orders. I got orders wrong. I told someone not to be rude to me. I told my boss the apron he gave me was stained. But no, they didn’t fire me.” She looked up at Jack. “How do you do it every day?”

Jack laughed. “I just follow orders, Kath. It’s that or starve, so it’s an easy choice. You’ll get the hang of it. Let’s go.”

Jack felt his smile fading the closer they got to Pulitzer’s house. Kath was right, it would take him forever to pay this off. Fuck, had he said no cops? He should have said no cops. What if they were there, waiting? His hands started to sweat. If he’d said no cops, he might as well just confess and report to jail, though. They pulled up and got out, Jack lingering by the car, taking a second to look around for unmarked cars. 

“Kath,” he said quietly. “You go first. You see any cops, you gotta yell, okay?” He sounded like such a little wuss. Brave enough to steal but scared of jail, was that it, Kelly. He ran his fingers through his hair and rolled his shoulder. Let’s go. Don’t be such a little girl. He grabbed his money in his pocket and followed Kath into the kitchen, struck still by the aroma of the steaks and potatoes and pie and who knows what else. He swayed and put his hand on the counter for a moment, pausing to inhale. He clenched his stomach as they walked toward the dining room.

“Daddy? We’re here,” Kath called. She pushed open the swinging door and saw Pulitzer and Lillian at the table, in the middle of eating dinner. “Oh, hello.”

Pulitzer got up and kissed her cheek, and turned to shake Jack’s hand before sitting down again. “Jack, hello. Kath, have you had dinner? Go tell Alma if you want something more than water to drink.” Kath stood awkwardly, pulling out a chair a little. Jack looked at the table again and saw it was set for three. Nice. He saw how this was going to go down.

“Yes, Dad, I did, after work. But Jack hasn’t had dinner yet,” she said pointedly.

Jack tried not to roll his eyes and put his hand up to Pulitzer as Pulitzer began to speak. “I’m fine.” Pulitzer took Kath’s plate and put a steak and some potatoes on it for her, putting it on her place.

“Well, sit, you two. Let’s visit,” said Pulitzer.

Jack pulled out the chair opposite Pulitzer and sat as Kath got settled. He swallowed as he gave Lillian an uncertain look. “I got your money, Mr. Pulitzer.” He took the bills out of his pocket and held them out. 

“Later, Jack. Kath, How was work? How did it go?” Pulitzer continued eating as he watched Jack watch him. Arrogant bastard, Jack thought. He had played this game many times. Bring it.

“It was fine, Dad. It’ll work out well since it’s so close to our apartment. Jack said we could even walk there together most mornings,” said Kath. 

“How nice,” said Pulitzer. “How much are you working these days, Jack?” 

“Every day all day,” said Jack, smiling. Here it comes—something was gonna hurt. “Not forever, though. Just till things get settled.”

“Settled indeed,” Pulitzer chuckled. “Well, maybe Kath can help you out since all those hours don’t seem to be getting you much.”

Jack smiled, his lips closed, nodding a little. And there it was. Punch received.

“You could always rob someone if you needed to,” interjected Lillian. Jack smiled again, looking at the table. This was so great, yes. Please, keep going. But they could do this all night, he thought. Chances were good they wouldn’t actually beat the crap out of him too, so as long as it was just words, he’d just keep smiling.

“Dad!” said Kath. 

“Jack’s fine, aren’t you, Jack,” said Pulitzer, making sure Jack saw him take another bite. “He knows how this works. So brave, paying for a crime he didn’t commit.”

Jack tilted his head slightly, exhaling a little. Keep your mouth shut, Kelly.

“Come count out your payment, then, before you go,” said Pulitzer. Jack got up and brought his bills around to Pulitzer, and counted it all out, trying to ignore the extra food on the serving plate in front of him.

“How could you just sit there!” Kath exclaimed. “You didn’t say anything!”

Jack put on his seat belt, shaking his head. “He didn’t want me to say anything, Kath. Your dad ain’t gonna actually beat the shit out of me, so it’s fine. He just wanted to put me in my place. I’ve known guys like that my whole life. No big deal.” Pulitzer was right, though. He really hadn’t gotten anywhere. He really was a criminal. He leaned his head against the window and watched the streets pass by. 

Jack stood in his apartment. His rinky, dirty, crappy apartment. Seventy plus hours a week and he ain’t even got a table. Or anything. He rubbed his face with his fingers. This was the best he could ever do with his fucking record for the crime he really didn’t do. He’d never be able to offer Kath a dinner like that. Lord, he’d almost gotten arrested the one time he’d tried. He couldn’t even feed Romeo right. He went over to the counter, his jaw tightening as he saw the remainder of the loaf of bread and the empty baloney wrapper Romeo had left out. He grabbed the peanut butter jar, whirled around, and flung it against the wall. Clenching his fists, he bent over, letting out a frustrated yell. He pounded his fist on the counter, yelling more. He propped his elbows on the counter and raked his hair, just breathing for a few minutes. He pulled out his phone.

“Hey, Mayer? How you doing?” Jack tried to sound cheery. “Yeah, good. I just ain’t talked to you in a while and wanted to see how you were doing.” He paused. “Yeah, it’s good. I got my own place. It ain’t quite ready for visitors, though. Yeah, sometime. Well, yeah, I mean, if you want to, you can. It ain’t fancy.” Jack nearly cried with relief. “Okay, yeah, I’ll send you the address right now.”

Mayer sat next to Jack on his blanket and listened. Jack talked and talked. And ate. And talked. It had been a long time since Mayer had sat on the floor this long, and he wasn’t quite sure he’d be able to get up very easily, but felt confident Jack could haul him up if necessary. Mayer was glad he’d followed his gut and brought a bag of groceries. Jack had laughed when he saw the bag, but hadn’t said no either. Two packs of beef jerky later, Jack had started to talk, and it all came pouring out, from Oscar to Lillian to Romeo to his mother to memories he’d rather forget. Mayer had rubbed Jack’s back when he’d leaned forward to cry. Pulitzer had certainly known what buttons to push. No violence necessary to make Jack relive it all, he thought bitterly.

“Jack,” said Mayer. Jack looked up. “I’m proud of you. You have a wonderful kingdom here.”

Jack let out a sob and a laugh. “A kingdom.”

“I can tell you that is what Romeo sees. And isn’t that what you said you felt when you first moved in? Don’t let Pulitzer in your head. And you and Kath will figure it out. That was brave of her, taking on that job, you know. Talk about a leap of faith,” said Mayer. “And now that she’s seen you sit at the table with Lillian without murdering her, maybe she can too. A new world, Jack. That’s what you’ve got here. Think about that.” Jack stared at him, speechless.

Mayer shrugged and struggled to get up. Jack jumped up and pulled on Mayer’s arms to help. “Thank you,” said Mayer. “Feeling better?”

“Yeah,” said Jack. “Next time bring me a crown.”

“You got it.” Mayer pulled on the door, which did not budge one single inch. Jack stepped in front of him and yanked it open. “Thank you. Good night, Jack. Get some rest.”


	43. Albert

Jack held his phone away from his mouth as he coughed again. “No, let’s still do it tonight. You gotta get out of the dorm, right? So let’s do it. We gotta celebrate you moving into a slum.” He blew his nose and sniffled. “Just bring it all over and I’ll help you bring it up when I get off work.” He glanced out of his window at the gloomy morning. “Okay, see you then. Hey, wait. You’re bringing stuff for dinner, right? Yeah? Okay. Bye, love you.”

He hung up and put his hands on his knees. Much as he had liked having Romeo the past few days, he did not love Romeo’s cold so much. Well, Kloppman wouldn’t wait forever. Jack slung on his sweatshirt and headed out. Dinner would be great, so just focus on that, Kelly. Who doesn’t like spaghetti? And they could use their new, well, new-to-them, pot and plates and eat like real people for once. Really moving up in the world, Kelly. 

Jack shoved his hands down in his pockets and pulled his hood up again against the rain as he headed home. His cheeks felt hot and his throat felt all closed up as he coughed some more. Maybe Kath wouldn’t have that much to move in. He hoped? Or maybe it could wait until tomorrow? What would Conrad say if he was still sick on Monday? Jack went into his building and dragged himself up the stairs. He definitely did not feel like making spaghetti. He lurched into his room, glad to see Kath already there, already getting dinner under way.

She turned and smiled. “Ready for your newly domesticated girlfriend to help you wreck the easiest dinner in the world?”

Jack just blinked at her, enjoying being able to stand still for a moment. “Sure.” He coughed again. “Give me a minute.” He peeled off his sweatshirt and hung it on the doorknob before grabbing Romeo’s dinosaur blanket and wrapping it around himself. He went over to Kath and peered into the pot. She had successfully boiled water. Bravo.

“Are we done?” he asked. “Wait, no. There’s the food part, too, isn’t there.” He picked up the pasta box and dumped in some spaghetti. “There.”

Kath put her hand to her chin. “Isn’t there some red stuff we put on it? What’s it called?” 

“Blood,” said Jack. “I’m sure it’s blood.” He handed her the jar of sauce and shuffled over to his blanket. “Baby, is it okay if I just sit for a minute?” He took out his crumpled up tissue and blew his nose again. He ached so bad as he leaned over to get down. He sat on his blanket and pondered the dinosaurs on Romeo’s as he coughed again. Please, please let him be better for tomorrow. Pulitzer would have something smart to say about him being sick, somehow, he bet, as he took all his fucking money again. Shit. Jack put his head on his knees and tried to will himself better.

He jerked his head up at the banging on the door. He didn’t owe anyone money but Pulitzer, did he? Oscar? Shit, what did he want? Kath rushed over to the door and pulled it open.

“Jack!” Spot shouted. “Get up! Don’t be so fucking lazy!” Kath laughed as Spot dragged in a big something, followed by Charlie, Race, and Albert, who was clattering around with something else. Jack sniffled and grinned.

“Oh, Jack, look!“ exclaimed Kath as Spot unfolded the legs of a card table.

Spot set it up. “Whaddaya think? A dumpster special, my friend!” Jack rolled to his knees and got up, still wrapped in Romeo’s blanket.

“Nice. Thanks? What are you guys doing here?” Jack asked.

“Kath’s moving in today, right?” asked Race. “It’s one thing for you to live like an animal, but don’t you think Kath deserves better?” Jack went to stand behind Kath and put his arms around her, wrapping her in the blanket. He nodded in agreement as he watched Race put four boxes of pizza on the counter.

“Those are from me,” said Charlie. “Leftovers from work. But Race bought some good ones, too.”

Albert dragged the two folding chairs he had to the table. Jack stepped away from Kath and pointed at the stenciled lettering. “Those belong to the school. I ain’t taking nothing like that. Does Mr. Jacobs know you took those?”

Albert rolled his eyes. “Mayer showed me where they were, dumbass. They’re all broke, but I fixed ‘em. See? Ain’t nothing you can’t fix with duct tape.” He shook the chairs, only showing Jack just how dangerous they were to sit in. 

“Wow. Thanks,” said Jack.

Race took the package Charlie had been holding and gave it to Jack. “You got company full time now, so you need to have a window shade, my friend.”

Jack gave Race a doubtful look as he tore open the package. “Fuck. Really? A Mets window shade?”

“You got a problem, Kelly?” Spot got close to Jack’s face. “You got a fucking problem?” He grinned. “Don’t you got any manners?”

Jack shook his head, coughing as he tried to laugh. “No. Or so people say. But thanks, Race. I’ll get to think of what a fucking idiot you are every fucking day.”

Albert held out one more bag to Kath. “Mayer said to give this to you last. He didn’t wanna come to the party, but he told me I’d hafta read a book if I didn’t give this to you.” 

Kath took it and opened it up, giving Jack a puzzled look. “Crowns? What?” She took out two toy crowns.

“For our kingdom,” said Jack, blowing his nose again. “Queendom? What’s it called when you got both?”

“Civil war,” said Race. “Sounds about right.” He took the crowns from Kath and put them on their heads. “Go ahead, Kath, punch his lights out. Seems like an easy target tonight, anyway.”

A hissing sound came from the stove as the water boiled over. Kath went over and took the pot off the burner. “Jack, is the spaghetti supposed to be this mushy?” she asked.

“Who cares. Let’s have the pizza,” Jack said, blowing his nose. He really needed to sit down, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to try one of Albert’s chairs. “You guys try out the chairs. I’m going back to bed with my pizza.” He took a plate and helped himself to a pizza and headed back to his blanket, leaning against the wall and smiling as he watched Charlie sit gingerly on a chair with his pizza. Albert grabbed the other one and sat down in it, listing precariously to one side. He looked over at Jack and frowned. What now, Jack wondered hazily. He rubbed his face and yawned and coughed, trying to hide it as Spot came over to sit with him.

“You like dinosaurs these days, Jacky,” he asked. 

“Yeah,” said Jack. “I threw Romeo out so I could have his blanket.”

“Nice. I’d do the same.”

Jack’s eyes drooped and he felt his head jerk and his pizza slip. “Spotty...” he said. “Sorry. I’m tired. I gotta work tomorrow.”

Spot got up and took Jack’s plate. “Okay, everyone out. Not you, Kath, obviously. Just the dumbasses. Not you, Jack. Whatever. Jacky’s gotta get some sleep, right? Everybody out.” He took the plates to the counter and put his arm around Kath. “You done good.”

She smiled at him and adjusted her crown. “Thanks. Now leave my queendom. I must get ready to waitress tomorrow.” 

“As you wish, your majesty,” he replied. “You should leave your crown at home, though.”

“I’ll think about it. Bye, guys,” she said, as they rumbled noisily out the door.

Jack heard Kath turn off the light and felt her lie down next to him, but he didn’t have the energy to move. She ran her fingers through his hair and then rolled over to face the opposite direction. A sudden banging on their door had Jack sitting straight up. What the fuck. Kath. She was getting up.

“No, babe,” he whispered hoarsely. “Stop.” He got up and went toward the door as the banging resumed.

“Who is it?” he shouted as violently as he could, bursting into a new round of coughing.

“Me, Jack,” said Albert. “Put some pants on and open up, will ya?”

Jack opened the door, and there stood Albert, alone. “The fuck, man,” said Jack. “Spot throw you out?”

Albert moved to come inside, and Jack let him in. “No. Not yet. I brung you this.” He held out the folded up air mattress and air pump.

Jack stared at him and sniffled as Kath joined him. “That’s yours, Albert. What’re you doing? That’s yours.”

“Just fucking take it, Jacky, damn. I’m good. I’ll get another one soon. Spot said it was okay.” He pushed the mattress and pump at Jack.

Jack took them, still uncertain about what was happening. ”Why?” he finally asked. Albert looked uncomfortably at Kath and down at the floor. Jack squeezed Kath’s hand. “I’ll be back in bed soon, I swear.” Kath squeezed his hand back and went back to bed.

Albert watched her lie down and then looked back at Jack before looking at the floor again. “I liked my fucking cake, all right? And I got a place to stay cuz of you. So just take the fucking mattress or I swear to God I’ll take out your other eye.”

Jack shifted the mattress in his arms, trying not to cough. “Yeah, okay.” 

“See ya.”

“Yeah, see ya.” Jack watched Albert walk down the hall and disappear down the stairs.


	44. Pretty Sure This Is the Last Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Running out of steam, friends, unless there are loose storylines you want wrapped up.

Jack pulled his hood back and pushed up his sweatshirt sleeves as he entered the restaurant and took a seat at the counter, blending in to the long line of hunched over men watching the football game on the tv. Kath was busy, all right. No wonder her tips were up. He ordered coffee and a grilled ham and cheese sandwich from the other waitress and waited for Kath to notice him. His coffee came and he slurped at it, resting his arms on the counter, enjoying the rest. He picked at the bandage wrapped around his hand, wondering if Conrad would kill him. His fingers were fine, so he should still be able to do the work. Conrad would probably have a huge “told you so” talk with him, but then he wouldn’t say anything more. Right? Sure, Kelly.

“Hey, since when can you afford to get something here?” asked Kath on her way by. “What’re you doing here?”

“Just watching the pretty girls,” he said. “And I got a good tip today, so I’m a big spender.” He coughed and pushed his hair back. “The lady we were working for felt so bad when I cut my hand she took me to urgent care herself and gave me twenty bucks. Four stitches. Five bucks a stitch.” Kath looked worriedly at his hand, but was summoned by another customer. He watched Katherine swing in and out of the kitchen. She’d gotten the hang of it for sure. He blew his nose and slurped at his coffee again as he got his sandwich. A short evening of turning over his money to Pulitzer and they’d be back home, safe for another week. He curled his arm around his plate and shoved his sandwich in his mouth. Now this was nice, a hot sandwich.

He turned as he heard Kath raise her voice. “Hey. Knock it off,” she said loudly. Jack leaned back on his stool to check out the customer, a big guy in a booth who seemed used to getting his way. Kath was pushing his hand away, but the customer obviously saw that as a challenge. “Stop,” she said, raising her voice. More heads turned to watch. The customer grabbed her again, grinning. Kath raised her hand and slapped the man across the face, the smack echoing around the now silent room, save the announcer’s voice on the tv. The man’s eyes bulged. He lunged at her as she backed away, but stopped as he suddenly realized the entire room was watching.

Jack got up and started towards him, but once he was on his feet the man pointed at Kath and yelled, “They’re gonna fire your ass, bitch!” and stormed out the door.

Jack found his footing and rushed over to Kath as the other customers burst into applause. “That bastard has had it coming for a while, girl,” one of them shouted. “Good for you!” 

“Are you okay?” asked Jack. He coughed again into his sleeve.

Kath nodded, shaking, but gestured at the manager. “I have to go get fired, it seems.” Jack shrugged. They’d miss the money for sure, but she could probably get another job pretty easily now. He watched her lift her chin as she crossed the room, admiring her new swagger.

Jack leaned against the wall, waiting for Kath to get off. Finally she came out and saw him waiting. “There you are! Where did you go?”

“Did you get fired?” he asked as they started walking home.

“No,” she said, flipping her hair. “I didn’t. My boss chewed me out, but when he was done and I went back out, everyone yelled at him not to fire me, so he didn’t. And I got the best tips I’ve ever had.”

Jack grinned. “You watched me with Romeo.”

“Oh, so you get all the credit? Nice try.” Kath looked over at Jack. “Oh, no. Jack, you didn’t.”

“Well, yeah, I did. No one talks to my girl like that and walks away. Such a wimp. Wasn’t nothing compared to beating the crap outta Oscar. I didn’t break no fingers, either. Conrad would kill me.” He held out his good hand. “See? Just a little blood.” He coughed again and tried to smile at her. 

As they pulled up to Pulitzer’s, Jack felt his face get hot again. Just give Pulitzer the money. That’s all he had to do. Don’t let him get in his head, remember that. He’d done okay the past few times, but still, the digs kind of stuck with him. He rubbed the growing bruise on his jaw and worked the hand he’d used to beat the shit out of that guy. Conrad would not like bloody knuckles, Jack was pretty sure. Kath leaned over and kissed him on the cheek before they got out. Jack stood, suddenly bracing himself on the car as his stomach started to turn.

“Kath...” he stammered, “that sandwich...” He crashed to his knees as he retched into the flower garden by the side of the house. He stopped, breathing hard, checking to see if he had to throw up again. He did. Dammit. He caught his breath again, trying not to cough, and wiping his face with his wrist.

He felt Kath kneeling next to him. “I’m fine,” he said. “I’ll be good.” He found her face and smiled.

“Jack, you’re burning up,” she said. “We should go home. Dad can wait.”

“Like hell. I ain’t going to jail cuz I’m sick. He’s getting his money.” Jack sat back on his knees and tried drawing a breath.

“Your face is all hot, babe. And your eyes are glassy. Sorry. Is that insensitive?” Kath made an awkward face.

“It’s methyl methacrylate and white acrylic, not glass,” said Jack hoarsely. He grinned as she rolled her eyes. “What, you didn’t think I knew any big words?”

“That’s not as punchy as saying your eyes are glassy.”

Jack heaved once more into the flower garden. “What do you put in that sandwich at that place?” he croaked. “I thought you liked me.”

“I do like you. I bet Penny was jealous of me and poisoned your sandwich.”

Jack wiped the sweat from his face, still trying to catch his breath. “Marry me before I die of food poisoning.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Marry me. Sometime.” Jack rubbed his eye with the heel of his palm. “If I survive.”

Kath paused for a moment to consider Jack. His hopeful eyes, the bruise blooming on his jaw, and his beautiful curls, now soaked with sweat from barfing so hard. How did she deserve him, she wondered. The crap he put up with from her dad, just for her. Her dad, who was standing next to them.

”Dad!” Kath practically shouted. “Don’t sneak up on people like that!” She saw Lillian standing a few paces behind, arms folded.

“Alma saw you out here and wondered if you were all right,” said Pulitzer. “Is everything okay?”

Kath stared up at him. “No, Dad, everything is not okay. You can see Jack, can’t you?” Jack shook his head and looked down again. Not the attention he wanted.

“I can. I can see he’s been brawling again. Maybe prison would be a good fit after all. Is that the plan no matter what, Kelly?” Jack rocked forward on his knees, trying not to heave yet again. He was never going to get a break with this guy, was he. He ran his bandaged hand over the back of his neck, keeping his head down.

“No, sir,” he said finally.

“Dad!” Kath stood up. “He went after a guy who was harassing me! The bandage is from the four stitches he got when he was working today when he should have been in bed! How dare you talk that way!”

“So he does continue to be violent. Jack, do you have your payment?” Pulitzer waited as Jack paused, braced his hands on the ground, and staggered to his feet.

“Yes, sir,” said Jack, reaching into his pocket. He held out the bills in his bandaged hand. He couldn’t bring himself to make eye contact with Pulitzer. Please, how could he get Kath to just take them home.

“Come in and visit, then,” said Pulitzer to Katherine.

“No,” she said, “absolutely not. Jack needs to go home and get some rest. I will not have you humiliate my fiancé anymore with your nasty comments, Dad.” Jack raised his eyes to meet Kath’s, and managed a smile. Was he hallucinating, he wondered.

She faced Pulitzer. “Our deal was that Jack will make payments until the jewelry is paid for, and you will continue to provide tuition, right? Well, my deal is that you will treat Jack well. I don’t care if you want me home or not, but you will treat Jack well. So take your money, Dad. I will bring you the rest from now on, but Jack isn’t coming back here until you can treat him well.”

Jack turned a slightly panicked look to Pulitzer. Not his idea, he tried to telegraph with his mind. His hand throbbed and his throat hurt.

“Your fiancé.” Pulitzer stated.

“Yes.” Kath pulled her car keys from her jacket pocket. “And you can have this back. I’ll see you next week, Dad, with Jack’s money.”

“That wasn’t the entire deal, Kath,” said Pulitzer.

“Maybe not. But it’s mine.” Kath turned to Jack and pushed back his hair from his forehead. “Fire me.” 

“And you, Jack?” said Pulitzer.

“I’ll do what Kath wants,” said Jack, smiling at Kath. “Whatever she wants. Ain’t that what you want me to do, Mr. Pulitzer?” He took her hand. Kath turned and they started toward the street.

“What’re you doing?” Jack tried to whisper. 

Kath didn’t turn her head or move her lips. “Just keep going.”

“It’s a fucking long walk back, friend,” said Jack. “You sure about the car?”

“Don’t be a baby. Just keep going.”

Okay. Just keep going, Kelly. He knew how to do that, for sure. Even better with Kath holding his hand. He turned to her and kissed her ear as they walked back to their little apartment.


End file.
